The Dead Sea Scriptures (with notes and introduction)
By
Theodor H. Gaster
Third Edition Revised And Enlarged
Contents:
Book Cover (Front) (Back)
Scan / Edit Notes
Comments
Author Information
Preface
Note To The Third Edition
Introduction
1 - The Service Of God (Rules and Admonitions for the Elect)
Introduction
The Manual of Discipline
The 'Zadokite' Document
The Letter of the Law: Ordinances
A Formulary of Blessings
Notes
2 - The Praise Of God (Hymns and Psalms)
Introduction
The Hymn of the Initiants
The Book of Hymns
Poems from a Qumran Hymnal
1 - David (Psalm 151)
2 - Invitation to Grace After Meals
3 - Plea for Grace
4 - Supplication
5 - The City of God
6 - Morning Hymn
Lament for Zion
Hymns of Triumph
Notes
3 - The Mercy Of God (A Prayer for Intercession)
Introduction
Prayer for Intercession
Notes
4 - Glory To God In The Highest (The Litany of the Angels)
Introduction
The Litany of the Angels
Notes
5 - The Word Of God (The Study of Scripture)
1 - Expositions of Scripture
Introduction
Isaiah
Hosea
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Psalm 37
Psalm 45
Notes
2 - Everyman's Bible
Introduction
Memoirs of the Patriarchs
The Oration of Moses
Notes
6 - The Triumph Of God (Descriptions of the Final Age)
Introduction
The War of the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness
The Rout of Belial: Scriptural Predictions
The Coming Doom
Weal and Woe: An Exhortation
The Last Jubilee: A Sermon ('Melchizedek Texts')
The New Covenant
Manual of Discipline for the Future Congregation of Israel
'Thy Kingdom Come':
1 - The Messianic King
2 - Testimonia: Proof-texts of the Messianic Era
3 - A 'Messianic' Florilegium
4 - The Wondrous Child
Notes
7 - Virtue (The Wooing of Wisdom)
Introduction
The Wooing of Wisdom (Sirach 51.13ff.)
Notes
8 - Vice (The Wiles Of The Harlot)
Introduction
The Wiles of the Harlot
Notes
9 - Visions And Testaments (The Last Words of Amram)
Introduction
The Last Words of Amram
Notes
10 - Destiny (The Epochs of Time)
Introduction
The Epochs of Time
Notes
11 - Appendix
The Copper Scroll
The 'Prayer of Nabonidus'
12 - Sources
13 - Analytical Index
14 - Biblical Quotations And Parallels
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Genera: Religion / Extra Biblical Writings / Dead Sea Scrolls
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Copyright: 1976
First Scanned: 2002
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Comments
The first and second editions of The Dead Sea Scriptures have been praised as classics in their field:
"Dr. Caster's book is excellent: there is nothing available in book form which covers the ground so
thoroughly and with such restraint. Both his comments and the translation of the Hebrew documents
are written in superb English, which is a pleasure to read ... a masterly production, which can safely
be put into the hands of laymen in the field."
W.F. Albright
Johns Hopkins University
~~~~
"It furnishes the most complete translations yet to be published together with Gaster's introductions
and notes. The book is addressed to the intelligent general reader. Actually, as all who know Prof.
Gaster could predict, it contains a wealth of original insights drawn from his wide knowledge of
Judaism and comparative religion so that the book will prove very useful to the scholar as well."
Frank M. Cross, Jr.
The Biblical Archaeologist
~~~~
"I am tremendously impressed with the quality of the scholarship which it demonstrates. I have read
your introduction very carefully and find myself in practically complete agreement ... in almost every
detail."
Julian Morgenstern
Hebrew Union College
~~~~
"It is a book which I will always have on hand in order to refer to [its] translations. I am very pleased
by [his] Introduction, which gives reasonable solutions and rejects the absurd interpretations which
have recently been given."
R.P. De Vaux
Director of Excavations, Jerusalem
Author Information
Theodor H. Gaster is one of the world's most eminent Hebraists and an expert on the period during
which the scrolls were written. Working in twenty-nine languages and dialects, Professor Gaster is the
author of many distinguished articles and books on the religions and civilizations of the Ancient Near
East. His major work Thespis (1950) is a study of the ritual origins of the drama. He is also the author
of the standard work Myth, Legend and Custom in the Old Testament (1969). Emeritus Professor of
Religion at Barnard College—Columbia University, he is currently a member of the faculty and
Chairman of the Ancient Near Eastern Study Program at Dropsie University in Philadelphia. He has
served as Fulbright professor, History of Religions, at the University of Rome as well as Fulbright
professor, Biblical Studies, at the University of Melbourne, Australia. He has been the recipient of
two Guggenheim awards. Professor Gaster is also the editor of The New Golden Bough.
Preface
The purpose of this book is to provide a complete and reliable translation of the celebrated Dead Sea
Scrolls, insofar as the original Hebrew texts have yet been published. Everything that is sufficiently
well preserved to make connected sense has been included. Mere fragments, however, have been left
out, because there is no point in rendering disjointed (and often incomplete) sentences wrested from
their contexts. Furthermore, no translation is offered of the Dead Sea Scroll of Isaiah or of the other
more fragmentarily preserved Biblical manuscripts. The contents of the Bible are readily available in
English, and the special contribution of the Dead Sea Scrolls in this field is of interest only to
scholars. (*)
---[*] For the same reason no translation is offered of fragments from known apocryphal and
pseudepigraphic works.
---This book is addressed to laymen. It is not intended as an independent scholarly contribution to the
problem (or problems) of the Scrolls, nor as a survey of, or introduction to, the current controversy
about them. It is concerned only with what the Scrolls themselves have to say, not with what has been
or is being said about them. The Introduction therefore confines itself to providing background
material for an understanding of the documents, but does not venture into any detailed discussion of
the various theories that have been advanced concerning their date, the possibility of recognizing
historical allusions, and the like.
The present writer holds the view that:
(a) The texts here presented were composed at various dates between about 250 B.C. and 68 A.D.
(b) They formed part of the library of a religious brotherhood located at Qumran, but not all of them
were necessarily composed in the first place by or for members of that community. The latter may
simply have adopted them out of a body of traditional literature dealing with that future regenerated
House of Israel which they were seeking to create.
(c) The Dead Sea Scrolls and the religious movement which they depict help us to reconstruct the
spiritual climate of early Christianity and throw light especially on the mission of John the Baptist and
on the constitution of the primitive Church. But the Scrolls contain no anticipation of, or parallel to
distinctive Christian doctrines, e.g., Incarnation, Vicarious Atonement or Communion.
(d) The religious brotherhood represented by the Scrolls did not believe, as has been supposed, in a
martyred Messianic Teacher of Righteousness' who reappeared posthumously to his disciples and
whose Second Coming was awaited. The title Teacher of Righteousness' (more correctly, 'true
exponent of the Law') designates an office, not a particular person. The passage of the texts on which
the sensational theory has been based has been misunderstood. The writers of the Scrolls indeed
looked forward to the advent of a prophetic and priestly Teacher before the Final Era, but this was not
the Second Coming of a martyred Christ
(e) It is unsafe at present to draw historical conclusions from the texts or to speculate about historical
allusions in them. Indeed, the latter need not necessarily refer to the vicissitudes of the particular
Qumran community.
More than to all the foregoing, however, the writer ad-: heres to the view that the Dead Sea Scrolls
should be regarded as something more than the subject matter of a scholarly controversy. For those
who will read them sympathetically, they possess value in their own right as conveying the religious
message of men who gave up the world and were able to find God in a wilderness, simply because
they preferred nakedness to motley and because they realized that, in the larger analysis, crucifixion
can itself be resurrection.
The translation of the non-literary documents (e.g., The Manual of Discipline) aims to reproduce the
original in idiomatic English. The same liberties have been taken in breaking up the sequences of the
Hebrew sentences, rendering copulas by punctuation-marks, and the like as would readily be
permitted—even expected—in any version of a modern work. These renderings, therefore, while they
are not to be regarded as slavish 'ponies', are not mere paraphrases. They stick strictly to the letter of
the text, and every word of the original is covered.
The hymns and prayers present a special problem. These are written, by and large, in the style of the
Biblical Psalms; but to the composer this style was a conscious archaism, while it fell on the ears of
the reciters with the same effect as does the language of the Anglican Prayerbook or the King James
Version upon the modern churchgoer. The only feasible way of reproducing this effect is to fall back
on 'Biblical English'. Readers who may be irritated or impeded by the 'howbeits' and 'whiloms' and the
like need only to be reminded that the original reciters were, in all probability, just as much put out by
the plethora of rare and recondite words and by the artificial manipulation of Biblical 'tags' in which
the authors indulged. But to smooth this out would be to lose the flavor; it would be like trying to
make Lyly talk the language of Housman.
As for the other literary texts, my aim has been to bring out not only the overt meanings of words and
phrases, as these might be determined in a dictionary, but also their subliminal suggestions and
associations. For it scarcely needs pointing out that it is precisely in the conveyance or evocation of
these latter that the art of any creative writer really lies. A translator therefore short-changes both
author and reader if he does not at least try his best to reproduce tone as well as text. In the present
case, this applies especially to the rendering of the commentaries and discourses on passages of
Scripture, where at least half of the sense depends on what is read into the text, as the complement of
what is read out of it.
Obviously, this involves a subjective element, but so does all intelligent reading, for meaning is, in the
final analysis, the junction of an author's statement with a reader's experience and perception. The
translator is, in fact, in much the same position as is a concert artist playing a score; he has to use his
ear and heart as well as his hands; and no two performers will play the same piece alike. In other
words, this book represents my own understanding of the Scrolls. No one can honestly produce any
other kind of translation of anything.
For the benefit of those who may wish to use this book alongside of the original texts, I should like to
point out that the translations have been made in all cases from the facsimile plates, not from the
editors' transcriptions. This means that in a few instances I have read faint traces or ambiguous
spellings somewhat differently.
Then, too, it should be pointed out that in rendering the innumerable Biblical 'tags' that are interwoven
in all the texts, I have not simply fallen back on the standard English versions. The original authors
often understood the Scriptural passages in a way quite different from ours, and more often they
deliberately manipulated them to produce effective phrases and tropes. In all cases I have carefully
consulted the Ancient Versions (especially the Aramaic Targum and the Syriac Peshitta) hi order, if
possible, to recover from those sources traces of the tradition that the authors may have followed.
Not infrequently, this has provided the clue to expressions that would otherwise be obscure; but it
means that hi translating the 'tags' I have had perforce to render them somewhat unrecognizable to
those brought up on the English Bible. This is especially so in the case of the Hymns, where the
impression that is made on a reader familiar with the Hebrew Scriptures can scarcely be reproduced.
For even measure, however, I have cited in the notes all the main Scriptural passages from which the
writers borrowed. The reader must be warned, nonetheless, that these will have to be turned up in the
Hebrew Bible. (It is for that reason that they are cited according to the Hebrew rather than the English
numeration.)
Finally, the reader is asked to bear in mind that only a fraction of the material recovered from Qumran
has yet been published. All work on these documents is therefore in large measure provisional. Many
of us who stand outside the charmed circle of the 'Scrolls team' in Jerusalem deplore the fact that, after
nearly twenty years, so relatively little has been made generally available to us, and even more the
tendency of those in charge of the texts to publish tantalizing snippets and excerpts, the proposed
interpretations of which other scholars cannot control because so much of the context has not yet been
revealed to them. One cannot but contrast this with the promptness and rapidity with which the
important cuneiform tablets from Ras Shamra or the Hittite texts from Boghazkoy are being made
available, and regret wistfully that the prevailing policy will, by the hazards of mortality, prevent a
whole generation of older scholars from making their contribution. Meanwhile, we can try only to do
by our strength whatsoever our hand attaineth to do.
Note To The Third Edition
Twenty-four more texts, published since the last edition of this book (1964), have now been added,
(†)
---[†] They are: The Letter of the Law ('Ordinances'); five fragments from The Book of Hymns; six
Poems from a Qumran Hymnal (i.e., the so-called Apocryphal Psalms); Lament for Zion; two short
compositions here entitled Hymns of Triumph; Commentary on Psalm 45; The Rout of Belial; Weal
and Woe; The Last Jubilee; The Wondrous Child; The Wooing of Wisdom; The Wiles of the Harlot;
The Last Words of Amram; and The Epochs of Time. For details concerning these texts (here largely
renamed) see the Index of Sources, pp. 541ff.
---The scholarly literature on the Scrolls increases from day to day, and much that was at first obscure is
gradually becoming clear. On the other hand, varying theories and 'reconstructions', often premature
and fantastic, still abound, and there is a crying need for the interpretation of the texts to be both 'demythologized' and de-sensationalized. Nevertheless, I have kept this book to its original purpose,
which is to provide a reasonably reliable and literary translation, with only such comment and
explication as is minimally necessary to give background and render allusions intelligible to the
general reader. (‡) This avoids the encumbrance (if also the spice) of technical controversy.
T.H.G.
New York
July 1975
---[‡] This 'minimum' includes, in some cases, brief explanation of how I have attempted to restore
incomplete passages. Such explanations are addressed more especially to readers who are able to
follow the original texts and who might otherwise wonder how on earth I 'get it'.
----
Introduction
Almost everyone has heard by now of the ancient Hebrew writings that have been found during recent
years in caves near the Dead Sea. Almost everyone has been moved by the assertion of scholars that
they come from the very community in which 'John the Baptist taught and Jesus learned'. And almost
everyone has been intrigued by the much-publicized claim that they reveal to us a long-lost forerunner
of Christianity—a sect which believed in a martyred Teacher of Righteousness' who would eventually
reappear to the faithful. It is, however, one thing to read about the Scrolls; quite another to read the
texts themselves.
This book offers renderings of all the principal and intelligibly preserved documents thus far
published, and of a related text (the so-called 'Zadokite' Document) which was discovered, nearly fifty
years ago, in an old synagogue at Cairo and earlier fragmentary copies of which have now turned up
hi the Dead Sea caves. Moreover, it does not gear these renderings to any particular theory, but allows
the documents to raise their own voice and give their own testimony amid the din and hubbub of
current controversy about them.
We do not yet know for certain who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls, when and where. Attempts have been
made to date them by palaeography—that is, by the form (or forms) of script which they
employ—and by detecting in them allusions to known persons or events. Neither method, however,
has thus far yielded conclusive result Palaeography could determine, at best, the time when our actual
manuscripts were penned, but not when their contents were originally composed.
Moreover, as things are, most of the ancient documents used for purposes of comparison or contrast
are themselves of uncertain date, are executed in a wide variety of media (stone, sherds and papyrus)
and are the products of widely different environments, so that they scarcely represent a single linear
development of Hebrew script. And as to the alleged historical allusions, the difficulty here is that
even if the passages in question do indeed possess specific reference most of them are so vague and
ambiguous that they can be pegged with equal plausibility to any number of different persons and
events all the way from the third to the first century B.C., if not also slightly later. (1)
To be sure, a useful clue might be afforded by matching special expressions and phrases used in the
Scrolls with those found in various pseudepigraphical writings, e.g. the Book of Enoch or the
Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs. Indeed, in the course of his work the present writer has compiled
a virtual concordance of such parallels. Here too, however, great caution must be exercised for the
dates of those works (or of their constituent parts) are, as often as not, themselves disputed.
In these circumstances, it seems best at present to leave in abeyance the question of ultimate origin
and to start from the situation that existed at the time the documents were cached in the caves. That
situation is that, whenever, wherever and by whomever they may have been com-posed, they had
come to be accepted as the literature or religious repertoire of an ascetic, 'protestant' and 'puritan'
Jewish community that lived in the Desert of Judah-more precisely, on the western shore of the Dead
Sea-during the early years of the Common Era; that is, in the very area and at the very time in which
John the Baptist 'came for witness, that he might bear witness of the light'.
It is this fact that gives them today their main interest and importance. They recover for us what may
best be described as the backdrop of the stage on which the first act of the Christian drama was
performed.
The community of which we have been speaking was situated in the forbidding ravine of Qumran, at
the northern end of the Dead Sea. It was clustered around a central building located about a kilometer
away from the cave in which the principal scrolls were discovered by an Arab boy in 1947. This
building has now been excavated, and on the evidence of coins found within it, it has been established
that it was occupied continuously (except for a break, due to earthquake, between about 31 B.C. and 5
B.C.) from, approximately, 125 B.C. until 68 A.D. Now this latter date coincides with the entry into
the area of the Tenth Roman Legion which had been dispatched thither to suppress the First Jewish
Revolt It is therefore a plausible conjecture that the building was abandoned when the troops drew
near, and that the manuscripts of its library were then cached for safekeeping in the surrounding
caves.
The prevailing view of scholars (though there are some dissident voices) is that the men of Qumran
were Essenes —that is, members of a pietistic brotherhood whose tenets and practices, as described
by the first-century writers Philo and Josephus, bear a striking resemblance to those outlined in the
Scrolls and who are indeed said by Pliny the Elder (23-79 A.D.) to have lived in the area at the period
in question.
Here, however, a word of caution is in order. It by no means follows, because the Scrolls were read
and cherished by the Essenes, that they were all necessarily composed by them. While this may well
be true of the Hymns of Thanksgiving and other liturgical pieces—expressing as they do the moods
and feeling of a living congregation—we should not immediately jump to the conclusion (as most
scholars have done) that the community whose constitution and doctrines are portrayed in such works
as the Manual of Discipline or the 'Zadokite' Document was necessarily that of the Essenes or the men
of Qumran.
In the present writer's opinion, it is just as possible that the community which is there depicted is an
ideal one—the ideal regenerated House of Israel which the men of Qumran believed themselves to be
or which they at least sought to emulate, these traditional writings serving them at once as authority
and model. (References in those works to such characters as the Teacher of Righteousness, the
Wicked Priest, and the like would then allude to figures in the history not of the specific Qumran
community but of Israel as a whole.) This hypothesis has the added advantage that it enables us to
account for the discrepancies as as the similarities between the beliefs and institutions de-scribed in
the Scrolls and those associated with the Essenes by Philo and Josephus, for it is not difficult to
conceive that the Essenes, constituted under particular conditions and possibly influenced also by
other considerations, may some-times have failed to realize, or been constrained to modify, the
archetypal pattern.
Ideal or real as the community of the Scrolls may have been, our prime source of information
concerning its basic principles, constitution and practices are the so-called Book of the Order (or
Manual of Discipline) and the complementary 'Zadokite' Document; while for the beliefs and religious
concepts—as evinced by the living congregation at Qumran—we may draw mainly on the more
personal and less academic Book of Hymns (or Psalms of Thanks giving).
II
We are introduced by these writings to a community which is conceived as the true and ideal
Congregation of Israel, the small remnant that has stayed faithful to the traditional Covenant and that
is thereby ensuring the continuance of God's people and the eventual cleansing of His land from the
stain of guilt. The Covenant, it is held, has been maintained and preserved throughout history only by
a succession of such pious 'remnants'.
The members of the community conceive of themselves as repeating in a later age the experience of
their remote forefathers in the days of Moses. When they leave the cities and villages and repair to the
desert, they picture themselves as going out into the wilderness to receive a new Covenant. What is
envisaged, however, is no 'New Testament' in the Christian sense of the term, no abrogation or
substitution of the old Covenant, but simply a new affirmation of it. This is in accordance with the
traditional Jewish view that the eternal Covenant is periodically reaffirmed and that the Pact
concluded at Sinai was itself but a re-articulation of that which God had previously made, in their
several generations, with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
To emphasize this basic idea and to bring out more clearly its sense of continuity with previous
'remnants', the community is designated in the Scrolls by a series of titles, styles and epithets charged
with significant historical associations. It is described, for instance, as 'the elect' or 'rightfully chosen',
in reference especially to the election of Israel at Mount Sinai. Its priests are called 'the sons of
Zadok', in reference to the foremost priestly family in the tune of David (cf. II Sam. 8.17) and to those
whom the prophet Ezekiel had designated, in his visions of the future restored Temple, as the only
legitimate priests (Ezek. 40.46; 43.19; 44.15; 48.11). Its sojourn in the forbidding desert is portrayed
as exile in 'the wilderness of Damascus', thereby dramatizing it as the fulfillment of the prophet Amos'
prediction that God would cause His people to 'go into exile beyond Damascus' (Amos 5.27). And it
regards itself as the militia of God—a kind of Salvation Army-ready, like its ancestors under Moses
and Joshua, to do battle for His name and to drive out the heathen from His land—in this case, from
the whole earth. (Indeed, it sometimes calls its adherents 'the volunteers'—a name with distinctly
military overtones; and it even drew up an elaborate plan of campaign for 'Armageddon'!)
There is, however, one crucial difference between this community and its remote prototype: it is not
waiting to receive the Law; it already possesses it. Its aim is simply to assert that Law, to deliver it
from the realm of darkness in which it had become engulfed. The Torah-that is, the Divine Teaching
(or Guidance) as revealed to Moses-has, it is held, been successively garbled and perverted by, 'false
expositors'. The community's main purpose is to exemplify and promulgate the true interpretation. It
bases that interpretation on a kind of 'apostolic succession', begun by the prophets and continued by a
series of inspired leaders each of whom is known as 'the correct expositor' or 'right-teacher' (not
'Teacher of Righteousness', as ma scholars have rendered it)—that is, the orthodox expound of the
Word. (2) The 'right-teacher' was probably in ever case a priest (3) his title being derived from Moses'
farewell blessing upon the priestly tribe of Levi: They have ob-served Thy word and kept Thy
covenant. They shall teach Jacob Thine ordinances, and Israel Thy Law' (Deut. 33.9-10).
Just as Israel has been led of old by these prophets teachers, so, it is held, a new Prophet and a new
Teacher (perhaps, indeed, one and the same person) will arise the end of the present era to usher in the
Golden Age, when the scattered hosts of Israel will be gathered in, duly anointed high priest and a
duly anointed king (the Messiahs [anointed] of Aaron and Israel') installed, and 'the earth filled with
the knowledge of the Lord like the waters which cover the sea'. The concept is derived directly from
the words of Moses in Deuteronomy 18.15-18: 'The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet
from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken. ... The Lord hath said
unto me ...I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren like unto thee; and I will put My
words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him" Indeed, it is
significant that on a small fragment found in one of the caves, that very passage heads a list of
Scriptural quotations justifying the Messianic ideas of the community and that it is there associated
with the words of Moses' final Blessing which we have just seen to be the source the technical term,
'teacher'!
III
But even if the Torah be correctly expounded by prophet and teacher, men, it is held, can and will
receive it only if they be correctly attuned. And that attunement comes— if we may mix the
metaphor—through inner 'enlightenment'. The community considers itself, therefore, not only the
remnant of Israel but also the specially 'enlightened'. Over and over again in the Book of Hymns
thanks are rendered to God for 'illumining the face' of His servant or for shining His light in His
servant's heart. The acquisition of that light, however, is not attributed to any sudden, spontaneous act
of grace. Rather is it the result of man's own voluntary exercise of that power of discernment which
God placed in every creature at the moment of its creation.
All things, it is affirmed—even the sun and moon and stars —have been endowed by God with
sensate knowledge, though the choice of using it or ignoring it has been left, in the case of man, to his
individual will. If he heeds the gift, he achieves harmony with the eternal cosmic scheme and breaks
the trammels of his mortality. Automatically, he is embraced in the communion of eternal things; he
becomes one with the non-mortal beings of the celestial realm—the 'holy ones' who stand for ever in
direct converse with God.
It is this state that the members of the Qumran community claim for themselves. This is the ultimate
goal of their entire spiritual adventure; the aim and raison d'etre of the Torah and of the disciplined
life which it enjoins. They hold that by virtue of their 'enlightenment' they are members not only of
the consecrated earthly brotherhood but eo ipso also of the Eternal Communion. As one of their
psalmists puts it, they walk for ever 'in uplands unbounded' and know that 'there is hope for that which
is molded of clay to have converse with things everlasting'. This is not, as all too many scholars have
supposed, a mere belief in bodily resurrection or a mere hope for the survival of the soul in some
cloudland of bliss. Rather is it the sound mystic sense that, given the right spiritual posture, given the
victory over that darkness which is set before him along with the light, man may live even on earth in
a dimension of eternity.
IV
It would be a mistake to suppose that the writers of the Scrolls and the men of Qumran were inspired
only by recollection of things past or that they chose their way of I life simply because they were
unsettled by political turbulence or disgusted by the venality of the Jerusalemitan priests. They were
swept also by other winds. One of these was a widespread and well-attested contemporary belief that
the great cycle of the ages was about to complete its revolution.
This belief was based on a conception, which can in fact be traced to remote Indian antiquity, that
existence consists not in linear progressive development—that is, in 'history'—but in a constant cyclic
repetition of primordial and archetypal events. When major upheavals occurred, it was promptly
supposed that the cycle was near-ing its end, that the Great Year was at hand, and that] cosmos was
about to revert to chaos. The primal elements, restrained and regulated at the beginning of the world,
would again be unleashed; all things would dissolve in an overwhelming deluge or be burned in that
everlasting fire which rages in the depths of the earth. Then the cycle would begin again; a new world
would be brought to birth.
For men, this theory posed the immediate problem of escape, and Religion answered that problem by
the postulate that 'righteousness delivereth from death' and that 'the just shall live by his faith'. There
was a sense in which, if he could not be delivered from the body of this death, man could at least be
released from the trammels of this life. He could immerse himself in eternal things, divorce himself
from the temporal and the mundane and, reversing the old adage, find that in the midst of death he
was fact in life.
The authors of the Scrolls and the men of Qumran lived at a time of such 'cyclic crisis'. It is writ large
in the pseudepigraphic literature of the two centuries immediately preceding the Common Era, and its
fading echo may be heard in John the Baptist's cry that 'the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand'. It was
escape from the inexorable cycle, release not from sin but from mortality, that these men were
seeking. The desert to which the Dead Sea brotherhood repaired was not simply the Desert of Judah; it
was also the mystic's Desert of Quietude—what John Tauler called 'the Wilderness of Godhead, into
which He leads all who are to receive this inspiration of God, now or in eternity'. In that wilderness,
they would not merely receive a renewal of the Covenant; they would also have the vision of the
Burning Bush. Removed from men, they would acquire an unobstructed view of the divine.
Thirsting in an inhospitable wild, they would drink the unfailing waters of God's grace. Shorn of
earthly possessions, theirs would be the poverty of the mystics—that poverty which Evelyn Underhill
has described as 'complete detachment from all finite things'. Burned by the scorching sun, they would
see the semplice lume of Dante, the 'infused brightness' of Saint Teresa, and by that light they would
not be dazzled. They would achieve an intimacy, a communion with the eternal, unchanging things,
such as one can achieve only in a desert or on a sea. And in this experience they would reproduce and
concentrate within themselves the drama of the cosmic cycle, the dissolving of the old order and the
birth of the new.
It is impossible for anyone who reads the Book of Hymns sensitively and sympathetically not to
apprehend, behind the cliche-ridden language, the tortuous and barely grammatical sentences, the
incessant filching of Scriptural 'tags', the movement of these deep mystic currents; and they too must
be taken into account.
In strange juxtaposition with such rarefied speculations, however, these men also take a severely
practical view of what is going to happen when the time for the world's renewal falls due. Even if
individual men escape the impending doom, general doom there still will be, and a good deal of evil
will still remain to be destroyed. The destruction will come by means of a forty years' war waged by
'the sons of light', (4) aided by the celestial hosts, (5) against the sons of darkness'. In three campaigns
they will win; in three, lose. At last, at the seventh encounter, God will triumph over Belial. This will
be the Day of Vengeance. Thereafter all tilings will be renewed. (6) The Era of Divine Favor (7) (in
contrast to the Era of Wrath) (8) will be ushered in. God's light will shine sevenfold strong. (9) He
will reaffirm the Covenant with the faithful, and engrave His Law on their hearts.
V
Concerning the practical organization of the community, we are particularly well-informed both by
the Manual of Discipline and by the so-called 'Zadokite' Document.
Children are to undergo a ten-year period of study in the provisions and institutions of the Covenant
and in a manual known as the Book of Study. At twenty years of age, they become eligible for
membership. Every candidate ' is to be examined publicly regarding his intellectual capacity and his
moral character. If he passes the test, he undergoes a year's probation, but is permitted no share in the
community's resources nor is he admitted to the common table. At the end of the probationary year, he
comes up again for review.
If his conduct be deemed satisfactory, he then serves a further probation of one year within the
community itself. He has to place all his property in trust with an 'overseer', but he himself is not yet
permitted to enjoy the resources of the group or to dine with them. Only after this second year can he
become fully enrolled, and then only by general vote, and after swearing an oath of allegiance.
No one under twenty-five may occupy a communal office, and no one under thirty can be reckoned as
head of a family or hold rank in the community's military establishment
The supreme authority in all doctrinal and economic matters is vested in the priests, assisted by the
levites. In any group of ten men, if one of them happens to be a priest, he is not to move to another
place, and every such group is to have an 'expounder of the law' to whom reference can be made at
any time of day or night
There is a general 'council' to which any member of the community may be elected. This serves as a
kind of parliament for purposes of deliberation, but it does not determine matters of doctrine, which
are left to the priests.
For administrative purposes, there is also a kind of presbytery, consisting of three priests and twelve
especially qualified laymen—an imitation, no doubt, of the priestly triumvirate of Aaron, Eleazar and
Ithamar (Num. 3.4) and of the twelve leaders of the tribes associated with Moses (Num. 1.4-16; Deut.
1.13-15). These 'presbyters' are known as 'the men of (special) holiness', and they have to undergo a
two-year period of training before appointment.
Every member of the community is assigned a special rank, which is reviewed from year to year,
promotions or demotions being determined by general vote. It may be questioned, however, whether
such rank is really a matter of individual status rather than of class. At all events, we hear in the
documents of clear distinctions between priests, 'men of (special) holiness', 'dignitaries' (literally, 'men
of repute'), 'men eligible for summons to the assembly', and 'heads of families'. Moreover, there is
frequent reference to admission to, or rejection from, 'the purity', and this would seem, in the various
contexts, to refer most naturally to the different degrees or levels of purity credited to various strata
within the total group. Josephus, it may be observed, speaks of four such degrees as having been
recognized among the Essenes.
All goods and wages are placed in a common pool, administered by an 'overseer' or 'superintendent'.
A similar officer presides over the allocation of communal tasks and duties.
Members of the community dine together, the food being first blessed by the priest. Everyone sits in
order of rank deal of evil will still remain to be destroyed. The destruction will come by means of a
forty years' war waged by 'the sons of light', (4) aided by the celestial hosts, (5) against the sons of
darkness'. In three campaigns they will win; in three, lose. At last, at the seventh encounter, God will
triumph over Belial. This will be the Day of Vengeance. Thereafter all tilings will be renewed. (6) The
Era of Divine Favor (7) (in contrast to the Era of Wrath) (8) will be ushered in. God's light will shine
sevenfold strong. (9) He will reaffirm the Covenant with the faithful, and engrave His Law on their
hearts.
Concerning the practical organization of the community, we are particularly well-informed both by
the Manual of Discipline and by the so-called 'Zadokite' Document.
Children are to undergo a ten-year period of study in the provisions and institutions of the Covenant
and in a manual known as the Book of Study. At twenty years of age, they become eligible for
membership. Every candidate ' is to be examined publicly regarding his intellectual capacity and his
moral character. If he passes the test, he undergoes a year's probation, but is permitted no share in the
community's resources nor is he admitted to the common table. At the end of the probationary year, he
comes up again for review.
If his conduct be deemed satisfactory, he then serves a further probation of one year within the
community itself. He has to place all his property in trust with an 'overseer', but he himself is not yet
permitted to enjoy the resources of the group or to dine with them. Only after this second year can he
become fully enrolled, and then only by general vote, and after swearing an oath of allegiance.
No one under twenty-five may occupy a communal of-fice, and no one under thirty can be reckoned
as head of a family or hold rank in the community's military establishment.
The supreme authority in all doctrinal and economic matters is vested in the priests, assisted by the
levites. In any group of ten men, if one of them happens to be a priest, he is not to move to another
place, and every such group is to have an 'expounder of the law' to whom reference can be made at
any time of day or night
There is a general 'council' to which any member of the community may be elected. This serves as a
kind of parliament for purposes of deliberation, but it does not determine matters of doctrine, which
are left to the priests.
For administrative purposes, there is also a kind of presbytery, consisting of three priests and twelve
especially qualified laymen—an imitation, no doubt, of the priestly triumvirate of Aaron, Eleazar and
Ithamar (Num. 3.4) and of the twelve leaders of the tribes associated with Moses (Num. 1.4-16; Deut.
1.13-15). These 'presbyters' are known as 'the men of (special) holiness', and they have to undergo a
two-year period of training before appointment.
Every member of the community is assigned a special rank, which is reviewed from year to year,
promotions or demotions being determined by general vote. It may be questioned, however, whether
such rank is really a matter of individual status rather than of class. At all events, we hear in the
documents of clear distinctions between priests, 'men of (special) holiness', 'dignitaries' (literally, 'men
of repute'), 'men eligible for summons to the assembly', and 'heads of families'. Moreover, there is
frequent reference to admission to, or rejection from, 'the purity', and this would seem, in the various
contexts, to refer most naturally to the different degrees or levels of purity credited to various strata
within the total group. Josephus, it may be observed, speaks of four such degrees as having been
recognized among the Essenes.
All goods and wages are placed in a common pool, administered by an 'overseer' or 'superintendent'.
A similar officer presides over the allocation of communal tasks and duties.
Members of the community dine together, the food being first blessed by the priest. Everyone sits in
order of rank or class, the priest occupying first place. They also meet together regularly for prayer
and study, and are obliged to spend one third of all the nights of the year in such) spiritual exercise.
Breaches of the rules are punished by temporary ostracism and exclusion from normal rations of food.
Repeated offenses, or acts amounting to repudiation of the basic Covenant, entail irrevocable
expulsion.
A quorum of ten appears to be required, in accordance with normal Jewish practice, in order to
constitute a 'congregation' or conventicle. Members of the community are encouraged to discuss
matters of law and doctrine for their, mutual instruction and edification, but they are forbidden, to
indulge in theological disputation with 'disreputable per-sons' (literally, 'men of corruption')—that is,
to all intents and purposes, with outsiders.
To form an idea of the temper and complexion of this strange community, as it was evidently
exemplified at Qumran, one could scarcely do better than to compare it with the Waldensian
Brotherhood as described (albeit with an overtone of polemic) by Bernard Gui in the early fourteenth
century. From the viewpoint of religious psychology, the comparison is, indeed, both arresting and
illuminating.
In both cases we have a group in revolt against the doctrinal degeneration and material venality of the
established 'church', and in both cases the dissent takes the form not of innovation or reformulation
but of a return to the true but corrupted 'apostolic' tradition.
In both cases, the dissenters constitute not merely a spiritual fellowship of faith, but a concrete social
organism. The Waldenses, like the Dead Sea Covenanters, 'eat and drink at common meals'. They do
not own private property, but, on admission to the sect, 'sell all they possess ana give the price to the
common fund'.
They hold annual conventions for the transaction of communal affairs, just as the Manual of
Discipline pre-scribes annual 'reviews'. The more advanced members of the sect are called 'the
perfect'—exactly like 'the men of
perfect conduct' of the Manual, and, like them, they serve as guides, preachers and 'apostles' of the
sect.
Members of the brotherhood are forbidden to lie or to swear oaths. They call themselves 'the poor', a
name which recalls the fact that in the Aramaic dialect of the early Palestinian Christians—that is, the
same dialect as would have been spoken at Qumran—the word for 'poor' also bore the specific sense
of 'ascetic'.
Finally, the Waldenses claimed to be the most ancient of all Christian sects, 'going back to the time of
the early Fathers'; and to this we may find a telling parallel in Philo's statement that 'our lawgiver
Moses formed countless disciples into a fellowship called Essenes'.
VI
Having now reviewed the basic ideas of the Scrolls, and the beliefs and institutions of the Qumran
brotherhood, we are ready to answer the burning question: Do these documents restore to us a longlost forerunner of Christianity?
The answer is, Yes and No.
Yes, in the sense that they furnish a picture of the religious and cultural climate in which John the
Baptist conducted his mission and in which Jesus was initially reared. They portray for us, in vivid but
authentic colors, the environment whose spiritual idiom John and Jesus spoke, whose concepts they
developed and transmuted and whose religious ideas served largely as the seedbed of the New
Testament. They also mirror a form of religious organization many elements of which were adopted
by the primitive Church.
No, in the sense that what we have in these documents and in the Qumran community is, as it were,
but the rude clay as yet unmolded by Christian hands. The Scrolls contain no trace of any of the
cardinal theological concepts-the incarnate Godhead, Original Sin, redemption through the Cross, and
the like—which make Christianity a distinctive faith.
The affinities between the thought and language of these writings and that of the New Testament may
best be gauged by a representative list of examples:
1. The members of the community style themselves 'the elect' or 'the elect of God'. Compare Titus 1.1:
'Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect'; or I Peter
1.1: 'Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ to the elect who are sojourners of the Dispersion'.
2. The truth of God, as revealed in His law, is constantly called the Light. Compare John 1.7-9: '[John]
came for witness, that he might bear witness of the light ... There was the true light, which lighteth
every man, coming into the world'; John 8.12: 'I am the light of the world'.
3. The 'enlightened' members of the community describe themselves as 'Sons of Light'. Compare John
12.36: 'While ye have the light, believe on the light, that ye may become sons of light'; Ephesians 5.8:
'Walk as children of light'.
4. In the Book of Hymns, the faithful frequently declare that they stand in the eternal congregation of
God, hold direct converse with Him, and 'share the lot of the holy beings'. Compare Ephesians 2.19:
'Ye are no more strangers and sojourners, but ye are fellow-citizens with the holy ones (E.V. saints),
and of the household of God'.
5. A basic tenet is the doctrine of the 'remnant'—the belief that the community constitutes the true
'relic' of Israel, faithful to the Covenant. Compare Romans 11.3-5: 'Lord, they have killed Thy
prophets, they have digged down thine altars: and I am left alone, and they seek my life. But what
saith the answer of God ...? Once I left for myself seven thousand men that bowed not the knee to
Baal. Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant by the election of grace'.
6. The spiritual leader of the community is called teacher' or 'right-teacher'. In John 3.2, Jesus is hailed
the teacher sent by God-that is, as the teacher who, it was held, would arise in the last days. So, too, in
John 16.13, the incarnate Spirit of Truth is described as "who shall guide you unto all the truth', and
these words are an almost perfect translation of the term rendered 'right-teacher', for Hebrew has only
one expression for 'teacher' and 'guide'.
7. In the Manual of Discipline, it is said that, if the community abide by the prescribed rules, it will be
a veritable 'temple of God, a true holy of holies'. Compare I Corinthians 3.16-17: 'Know ye not that ye
are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man destroy the temple of
God, him shall God destroy, for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are'. (A similar sentiment
may be found also in Eph. 2.20-22.)
8. In the same Manual of Discipline there is a long passage describing the Two Ways, viz. of good
and evil, light and darkness, which God sets before every man. The idea is indeed a commonplace of
ancient Iranian and later Jewish thought, but it is interesting to note the development of the same basic
imagery in the familiar picture of the wide and straight gates in Matthew 7.13f. and Luke 13.23f.
9. The Prophet that is to arise at the end of days, in accordance with the promise in Deuteronomy
18.18, was, as we have seen, a key figure in the religious doctrine of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Compare,
then, Matthew 17.1 Of. and Mark 9.1 1f., where Jesus is asked whether Elijah should not have
preceded his coming. Compare also John 6.14: Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that
Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world'. And note that Stephen,
when arraigned before the council, quotes the very passage of Deuteronomy in evidence of the true
character of Jesus (Acts 7.37).
10. The Manual of Discipline quotes the famous words of Isaiah (40,3), 'Prepare in the desert a
highway', in token of the fact that the final apocalyptic age is at hand. In John 1.23, the Baptist quotes
exactly the same passage in exactly the same context.
11. The community is often styled 'God's plantation' (after Isa. 60.21). So, in I Timothy 3.6, a novice
is called a 'neophyte'—literally, one 'newly planted'.
12. The river (or lake) of fire graphically portrayed in one of the Hymns as destined to burn up the
wicked (cf. Dan. 7.10f.), finds its counterpart in Revelation 19.20; 20.10, 14f.; 21.8, suggesting that
this was a standard element of the current eschatological 'nightmare'.
These, it must be emphasized, are but a few of the many parallels that could be quoted. One might
refer also to the use of the same literary devices both in the Scrolls and in the New Testament, e.g., the
stereotyped catalog of vices in the Manual of Discipline (col. iv) on the one hand and in such passages
as Galatians 5.19f.; Romans 1.29f.; 13.13; Colossians 3.5, 8 on the other.
Or one might adduce some striking verbal analogues, as when the Fourth Gospel speaks of 'men from
beneath' (8.23) or of a 'son of perdition' (17.12), both of which curious expressions occur in the
Hymns; or when John 1.3 is found in virtually the same words at the end of one of those same
compositions! Similarly too, when the Epistle of James speaks (1.14) of men 'hooked and trapped by
their lusts' (for that is what the Greek words really mean), we cannot but recall the passages in the
Hymns (iii, 26; v, 8) where exactly the same metaphor is used to describe the enticement of the
unwary.
And when James declares (1.17) that 'every good endowment and every perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of Lights', his words find a striking counterpart in that curious
compound expression 'Light-Perfection' which the Qumran documents employ (e.g., Hymns iv, 6;
xviii, 29) to describe the special endowment of the faithful. Nor, further, can we fail to recall that, according to the Manual of Discipline (iii, 20), control over the 'sons of righteousness' is 'in the hand of
the Prince of Lights'.
Indeed, we may perhaps not unreasonably con-elude that the Dead Sea Scrolls actually open a
window upon the little community of Jewish Christians clustered around James in Jerusalem. These
men may have been originally the urban brethren of the hardier souls that betook themselves to
Qumran and to other camp-settlements in the Desert of Judah. For the 'Zadokite' Document provides
expressly for urban as well as camp communities; while of the Essenes, with whom they may be
identical, Josephus states (War, II, viii, 4) that they also lived in the cities.
The possibility is increased by a number of significant statements made about James by Hegesippus,
an early Christian writer who wrote during the latter half of the second century C.E. 'Because of his
exceeding righteousness', we are informed, 'James was named the Righteous'; and once, when the
scribes urged him to preach against Jesus, they addressed him pointedly as 'Thou Righteous One, to
whom we are all bound to listen'.
Does not this sound uncommonly like a reflection of the title Teacher of Righteousness' (or, True
Expounder of the Law) which occurs so frequently in the Scrolls and in the 'Zadokite' Document as
that of the spiritual instructor of the Brotherhood? And is it not equally significant that, according to
this same Hegesippus, James habitually eschewed the use of oil and wore linen garments only—two
of the characteristic traits which Josephus (War, II, viii, 3, 5) attributes to the Essenes?
Nor is it only in the realm of ideas and doctrines that the Dead Sea Scrolls present affinities to early
Christianity. No less arresting are certain parallels between the organization of the community and
that of the primitive Church. It is significant, for instance, that some of the terms used to define its
several constituent elements, though themselves derived ultimately from the Old Testament, possess
in the Palestinian Aramaic dialect of the early Christians exactly the same quasi-technical sense as
denoting parts of the ecclesiastical organization.
A case in point is the term employed to denote the deliberative assembly (viz. 'esah); in Palestinian
Aramaic (where, significantly, it is a loanword) this means specifically the council of the church or
synagogue: it is used in the Scriptures as the rendering of the Greek synhedrion, more familiar to us in
the Hebraized form, Sanhedrin. Similarly, the word used to denote the total congregation (viz. 'edah),
though borrowed from the Old Testament, was likewise adopted in Syriac as the regular term for
'church'. In other words, the technical vocabulary of the early Palestinian Church seems to reproduce
that used by the Dead Sea Covenanters to describe their own organization.
Again, the Dead Sea Scrolls might at last clear up the vexed problem of the distinction between
bishops and presbyters in the primitive Church, for in these documents the administrative officers of
the community consist not only of mebaqqerim, or 'overseers'—the exact equivalent of the Greek
episkopos, whence our 'bishop'—but also of the twelve good laymen and true who assisted the three
priests and in whom we may very well see the counterpart of the Christian 'presbyters'.
Then, too, it is worth pointing out that the rule requiring all 'who perform communal service' to be at
least twenty-five years old, and all 'heads of families' and military officers to be at least thirty survived
in the Church in the statement of the Council of Hippo (393 A.D.) that no one is to be ordained under
twenty-five, and in the Neo-Caesarean and Maronite rules that no presbyter may be under thirty.
VII
On the other hand, it must be stated emphatically—particularly in view of recent exaggerated
claims—that the community envisaged by the Dead Sea Scrolls and translated into reality at Qumran
is in no sense Christian and holds none of the fundamental theological doctrines of the Christian faith.
It has been asserted, for instance, that the several references in the Scrolls to the 'right-teacher' all refer
to a single historical Teacher of Righteousness—a prototype of Jesus— and that a passage in one of
them which speaks of his having been 'persecuted' but having subsequently 'appeared' to the
community on the Day of Atonement foreshadows the Christian doctrine of the suffering and
resurrected Saviour.
Even, however, if the interpretation were correct (which is very doubtful), this would still be poles
apart from the Christian belief that the crucified Master was God incarnate Who by His passion
removed a sinfulness inherent in man through a pristine fall from grace. Of this basic doctrine of
Christianity there is not a shred or trace in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Other essential doctrines also are missing. There is, here, for instance, no vestige of the idea of
Original Sin. On the contrary, the idea is affirmed constantly in the Book of Hymns that every man is
endowed at birth with the charisma of knowledge and discernment and that any sinfulness which he
incurs is due only to his individual neglect of these gifts and to his individual submission to, or
entrapment by, the domination of the evil impulse (Belial).
Moreover, because sin is individual and not the inherited lot of man, and because it is incurred by his
own personal disposition, it can be removed also by his own individual experience. Once he 'sees the
light' by the exercise of his own God-given powers, he is out of darkness. In such a system, since there
is no concept of original, universal sin, there is obviously no place for universal vicarious atonement
Men suffer their individual crucifixions and resurrections; there is no Calvary.
Again, there is no Communion. Certain scholars, to be sure, have tried to find a prototype of the
Eucharist in the description given, in a fragment of the Manual of Discipline (or an analogous
document), of a banquet attended by 'the Messiah'. But this interpretation is untenable for several
reasons. First, the 'Messiah' in question is no divine eschatological figure. He is simply the duly
anointed king of Israel at any future epoch.
The aim of the passage— which the reader can examine for himself on p. 441—is simply to indicate
that, as in normative Jewish law, the sacred seed of Aaron has precedence over all laymen.
Accordingly, it is affirmed, even if the anointed king—what we should call 'a crowned head'—should
happen to be present at a meal, he and his retinue are not to take their seats until the high priest and
his priestly retinue have done so, and it is still to be left to the priest to pronounce the customary
benediction over the food.
Second, it is to be observed that the rule in question forms part of a code promulgated for 'the whole
Congregation of Israel in future times'. Accordingly, on any showing, it affords no testimony to the
current beliefs or practices of the men of Qumran.
Third, this document does not refer to any banquet 'at the end of days', as some scholars have
supposed, the Hebrew words so rendered being a common idiom for 'the future, hereafter'.
Fourth—and, perhaps, most important—even if, for argument's sake, this document did refer to a
divine eschatological Messiah attending a banquet with his disciples, it would still not be a eucharist
in the Christian sense, for there is not the slightest suggestion that the bread and wine were regarded
as his flesh and blood or that consumption of them had any redemptive power. At most, it would be an
agape, or 'love-feast'. (10)
VIII
In order to get this whole question into the right perspective, it should be observed that just as many
ideas and phrases in the Dead Sea Scrolls as can be paralleled from the New Testament can be
paralleled equally well from the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament —that is, from
the non-canonical Jewish 'scriptures' that were circulating between 200 B.C. and 100 A.D.—and from
the earlier strata of the Talmud.
Moreover, many of them find place also in the ancient doctrines of such sects as the Mandaeans of
Iraq and Iran and the Samaritans, so that even if they have not come down to us through Jewish
channels, we can still recognize in them part of the common Palestinian thought and folklore of the
time. Accordingly, to draw from the New Testament parallels any inference of special relationship is
misleading.
The point can best be illustrated by a few pertinent examples.
1. The Brethren called themselves 'the sons of light'. The title is familiar from the New Testament
(Luke 16.8; John 12.36; I Thess. 5.5). But it is common also among the Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran as
a name for those celestial beings with whom, indeed, the men of the Brotherhood claimed to stand in a
single communion.
2. The Brethren also affected the name of 'the Elect'. This, too, is especially familiar to us from the
New Testament. But it is also a common style among the Mandaeans; while the Manichaeans (who
share many of their ideas) likewise call themselves 'the chosen' (vicidagan).
3. Another common title of the Brethren was 'God's plantation' (cf. Hymns vi, 15; viii, 6.10). This, of
course, was derived from the Bible (Isa. 60.21). But it is likewise a common image in pseudepigraphic
literature (e.g., Psalms of Solomon 14.3-4; Odes of Solomon 38.18-21), and it is also very frequent
among the Mandaeans (e.g., Lidzbarski, Mandaische Liturgien, 149, 190, 194ff.; Right Ginza II, iv,
Mt.).
4. The Brethren claimed that they were especially 'enlightened' or 'endowed with insight'. Exactly the
same claim—expressed by exactly the same Semitic word—is made by the Mandaeans; while among
the Manichaeans, the lay member of the community (nigosag) was known as 'the man with insight'.
Moreover, the Brethren sometimes described this special illumination by the strange compound word
Or-Tom—literally, 'Light-Perfection', and this was simply a play on the Biblical Urim and Thummim
of the high priest. The light in question, it may be added, seems often to be identified with the Law
(Torah), and this idea, too, is found in pseudepigraphic literature (e.g., in the Testament of Levi,
written between 109 and 106 B.C.) and in the Talmud (e.g., Berachoth 17a).
5. The Brethren held that the deeds of men are divided between the dominion of God, which is light,
and that of Belial, which is darkness (Manual, iv). Here again we have a concept familiar enough from
the New Testament and one which, at a far earlier date, dominated Iranian religion. But the fact is that
by the second century B.C. it had already percolated into Jewish thought. The Testament of Levi says
explicitly (19.1): 'Choose either the light or the darkness, either the Law of the Lord or the works of
Beliar (i.e., Belial)'; while in the Testament of Joseph, Belial is called 'the spirit of darkness'.
6. The Manual of Discipline says that the faithful will receive a crown of glory (kelil kabod; iv, 7).
Peter and James, it is true, use a similar image; but in Mandaean thought the 'lustrous crown' plays an
extremely important role and is frequently mentioned in the hymns of the sect (e.g., Lidzbarski,
Mandaische Liturgien, 4f., 29, 108, 177, 243); and in the pseudepigraphic Odes of Solomon, there is a
reference (9.11) to the 'crown of truth'.
The correspondence between the ideas of the Brotherhood and those that obtained generally in
Palestine during the Graeco-Roman age and that survive sporadically among the more 'exotic' sects is
especially striking in the field of eschatology—that is, the lore about the Last Things.
1. The concept of a 'final conflagration', to which we have already alluded (above, p. 8), occurs
frequently in the Third Book of the Sibylline Oracles, a basically Jewish compilation dating about 140
B.C. The Jews appear to have adopted it from Gentile sources (although there is a foregleam of it in
Isa. 34.9-10), for it was held by Zeno and the Stoics and dominated the Roman-Oriental world from
the first century B.C. until the third century C.E.
2. The idea, articulated especially in the Qumran text called The War of the Sons of Light and the
Sons of Darkness, that the world is at present in the clutches of Belial, but that he will ultimately be
defeated, occurs again, not only in the New Testament (Mat. 24.5-12), but even more explicitly in the
Testament of Levi (5.27) and in the Sibylline Oracles (ii, 165f.). The apocalyptic war (mentioned also
in Hymns iii.29ff.; 35-36; 34-35)-an idea derived ultimately from the Biblical prophets (Isa. 13.9;
Zech. 14.3)—is likewise commonplace in pseudepigraphic writings (e.g., Syriac Apocalypse of
Baruch, 70.7-10) and in the Talmud; while the notion that angels too will fight finds an echo in the
Slavonic Book of Enoch 17.1, where they are described as 'the armed troops of heaven'—a play, of
course, on the expression 'heavenly host'.
3. The picture which is painted in Hymn No. 5 of the world travailing in the throes of new birth is
admirably illustrated by the fact that the Messianic turmoil preceding the final Golden Age is called in
the Talmud (Shab. 118a; Sanh. 98b) 'the birth-pangs of the Messiah' (cp. Mat 24.8; Mark 13.8-9; I
Thess. 5.3).
4. The doctrine that all things will be renewed (Hymns xi.l3f-; xiii.11-12) is again part and parcel of
Oriental thought at the time, and cannot be compared exclusively with Matthew's well-known
reference (19.28) to the eventual 'regeneration'. The pseudepigraphic Testament of Abraham, and
likewise The Book of Jubilees (1.29) speak of a renewal of the world after seven millennia; while the
concept of a periodic renewal was also a favorite doctrine of Neo-Pythagoreanism, which enjoyed a
great vogue in Roman society in the second and first centuries B C. An allusion to this idea, it may be
added, occurs in the very ancient form of the Jewish doxology (Kaddish) which is recited after a
funeral, for God is there extolled as 'He who will hereafter renew the world and quicken the dead'.
5. One of the Hymns states (vii.24) that God's light will eventually shine sevenfold strong. The basic
idea has, of course, good Old Testament authority (Isa. 60.19), but it is interesting to observe that,
according to the Talmud (Sanh. 91b), the light of the Messianic sun will be seven times as powerful as
usual.
6. Finally, the important concept of the New Covenant to be concluded with the faithful at the end of
the present era is admirably illustrated by the standard Samaritan tenet that God's bond with Israel has
already been concluded on no less than seven occasions, viz. with Noah in the rainbow; with Abraham
in circumcision; with Moses in the Sabbath; with the Two Tablets of the Ten Commandments; with
the Passover; with the Covenant of Salt (Num. 18.19); and with the Covenant of Priesthood with
Phinehas (Num. 25.12f.).
IX
Significant also in this connection are the parallels which exist between the doctrines and concepts of
the Scrolls and those which appear in Iranian lore. To be sure, these affinities present a thorny
problem, because, while some of them indeed occur in the really ancient portion of the Iranian
scriptures—the Gathas—others are to be found only in writings of relatively late date, and these may
themselves be derived (directly or indirectly) from Jewish sources. Either way, however, the parallels
are worthy of attention.
If, on the one hand, they are all genuinely ancient (even though some may be attested only in late
sources), they will lend added support to the view which is still maintained by a respectable body of
scholarship (or a body of respectable scholarship) that the elaborate angelology, demonology, and
eschatology which developed in Judaism during the intertestamental period owed much to earlier
contacts with Iranian thought. Indeed, it is not difficult to conceive how, in the dark days of national
eclipse, some at least of the Jews may have sought in Iranian dualism a more comforting explanation
of the fate which had befallen them than that afforded by their own traditional doctrines.
For, instead of having to believe that an outraged God had revoked His covenant with them, they
could thus find hope and solace in the notion that what they were suffering was, after all, no more
than a momentary triumph of Evil in its continuous struggle with Good—a purely temporary setback
which would be followed inevitably by the final discomfiture of Falsehood (Druj), the condign
punishment of all who had espoused it, the reward of the partisans of Truth or Right (Asha), the
dissolution of a corrupt world in fire and brimstone (ayah khshusta), and the eventual emergence of
that new world which is continually a-borning (frashokereti).
If, on the other hand, many of the Iranian parallels are themselves derived from Jewish lore, they will
nevertheless provide valuable testimony, from an independent source, of the new direction which
Jewish thought was taking—especially in 'non-normative' circles—and which leaves its traces also in
pseudepigraphic and rabbinic literature and in the doctrines of such 'off-beat' sects as the Mandaeans.
The principal parallels which come into question are the following:
If the Scrolls say that the God of Knowledge has appointed for man the two equal but rival spirits of
Truth and Perverseness, (11) the Avesta says that Ahura Mazda, the Lord of Wisdom, has set in the
world the twin but rival powers of Truth, or Right (Asha) and of Perverseness, or Falsehood (Druj).
(12) If the Scrolls say that the one comes from the source of light, and the other from that of darkness,
(13) Plutarch records the same belief among the Iranians. (14) If the Scrolls call the human partisans
of the one 'sons of righteousness', and of the other, 'sons of perverseness', precisely the same
designations (ashovano and dregvato) are given to them in the Avesta.
If the Scrolls declare that at the end of the present era, God, with his human and celestial partisans,
will do battle against the forces of Belial, (15) the Iranian scriptures aver in the same way that Ahura
Mazda with his earthly and heavenly supporters will ultimately engage the forces of evil (Angra
Mainyu, Druj). (16) If the Scrolls say that God will be victorious only after six previous campaigns,
(17) exactly the same belief is attributed to the Iranians by the Greek writer Theopompus, and is
repeated by the church father Lactantius. (18) If the Scrolls speak of the eventual dissolution of this
world in fire and brimstone, when even granite rocks will be turned to streams of pitch, (19) the
Iranian scriptures likewise foretell a final 'ordeal of molten metal' when even the metals in the
mountains will melt. (20)
If the Scrolls foretell for the wicked an endless torment in fire and darkness, (21) the Avesta dooms
them to the unquenchable flame and the eternal agony of gloom (anaghra temah). (22) And if,
conversely, the Scrolls hold out to the faithful the promise of a 'crown of glory' and a 'robe of honor',
(23) and the prospect of joining the celestial choir after death, (24) the Iranian doctrine envisages the
bestowal of a similar crown and robe, (25) the enjoyment of celestial radiance (khvarenah), and a
similar translation to the heavenly 'mansion of song' (garo demand). (26)
If, in the teaching of the Scrolls, God will test mankind in fire and spirit, (27) the Avesta says
precisely the same of Ahura Mazda. (28) And if the Scrolls affirm that at the end of the present 'Era of
Wrath', there will eventually arise a new Teacher to usher in that Golden Age when God's truth will be
made manifest (29) and all things be renewed, (30) so, in Iranian doctrine, after the ravages of
Aeshma, the demon of wrath and fury, (31) a new teacher will appear, (32) Asha (Truth, Right) will
emerge triumphant, (33) and the world will achieve the culmination of the constant process of renewal
(frashokereti). (34)
Indeed, in one of our texts (below, pp. 390ff.) the future Messianic king is identified with
Melchizedek, king of Shalem, mentioned in Genesis 14.18-20, simply because the name of that
monarch lends itself readily to the interpretation, 'king of righteousness' (melech zedek) and that of his
city suggests the Hebrew words, shalom, 'peace', and shallem, 'requite', thus identifying him as a
prefiguration of the future king who will bring both peace to the faithful and requital to the wicked.
It is not to be supposed, of course, that the writers of the Scrolls had any direct knowledge of the
Iranian scriptures. These ideas came to them only, at one or more removes, as part of an inherited
folklore or of the general ideological climate of the day; as we have seen, they are writ large both in
contemporary pseudepigraphic literature and in the New Testament, and they are present also in the
Talmud and in later rabbinic writings.
Moreover, wherever possible, they were deftly Judaized—'made kosher', as it were-by being coated
with the veneer of Biblical language. Thus, Ahura Mazda, the Lord of Wisdom, is cleverly translated
into the 'God of Knowledge' of Hannah's prayer (I Sam. 2.3); Angra Mainyu, the incarnation of evil,
becomes Belial; Druj, the female personification of perverseness, becomes 'avlah, 'crookedness', or
even Mastemah, a feminine cognate of the word Satan.
The fravashis who aid Ahura Mazda in the final combat become the 'holy ones' associated in
Zechariah 14.5 with God's own eventual battle. The final conflagration is portrayed in terms borrowed
directly from the farewell song of Moses (Deut. 32.22) and from Isaiah (34.9), and the Restorer
(Saoshyant) is identified with the Star foretold in the prophecies of Balaam (Num. 24.17). Indeed, not
the least fascinating feature of the Scrolls is precisely this blend of the Iranian with the Hebraic.
X
Just as unfortunate as the attempts to 'Christianize' the Scrolls are the attempts unduly to 'historicize'
them—that is, to detect in them precise and specific historical allusions.
In order to emphasize that what was happening or about to happen both to Israel and to the world at
large was but the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy, the Scrolls make use of a kind of figurative
geography, based on the Scriptures. Thus, they speak of the voluntary withdrawal of the elect from the
normative forms of Jewish life as 'exile in the desert of Damascus', in allusion to the words of God in
the Book of Amos (5.27): 'I will cause you to go into exile beyond Damascus'. Conversely, the future
regeneration of Israel is depicted as a return from 'the wilderness of the peoples' (cp. Ezek. 20.35) to
the 'Desert of Judah'.
The prime enemy—the representative of Belial or the Evil One—is styled Gog, originally the name of
a northern power whose doom had been foretold by the prophet Ezekiel (chaps. 38-39). Alternatively,
and more often, the hostile forces are described as Kittians (or Kit-taeans), a term which originally
denoted the inhabitants of Kition, in Cyprus (cp. Gen. 10.4), but which came later to be used in an
extended sense—rather like 'Huns' or Tartars'—of 'barbarians' in general and was applied in the
Hellenistic age to the 'Macedonians' of the Alexandrian Empire, and in the Roman age to the Romans
themselves. The War of the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness, a text which describes the final
apocalyptic conflict, refers to 'Kittians of Assyria' and 'Kittians of Egypt', where nothing more is
meant than the heathen population of either land, the doom of which had long since been foretold (cp.
Zech. 10.10-11, etc.).
There is no need to take such references literally and consequently to set off on a wild-goose chase
after historical identifications. The figurative use of names, always designed to evoke traditional
associations, is commonplace in most cultures; we need think only of such terms as 'Parnassus',
'Mecca', 'Babylon', or 'Waterloo' in current English parlance.
There is likewise a figurative use of personal names. Wicked priests who once opposed the 'teacher of
righteousness'—himself a priest—are described as a 'house of Absalom', in reference to the Biblical
Absalom's treason against his own father, David. Schismatics are referred to fancifully as 'the house of
Peleg' (cp. Gen. 10.25), simply because the Hebrew word p-l-g means 'divide'. Such designations
should deceive no one; it is quite futile to go casting around among the records of the Hellenistic or
Roman periods of Jewish history for a particular villain called Absalom. The name must be treated
simply like 'Attila', 'Machiavelli', 'Benedict Arnold', or 'Quisling' in modern speech.
Unfortunately, however, the true understanding of the Scrolls has been compromised (or, at least,
embarrassed) by the understandable eagerness of scholars to peg them to a definite date, and under
this impulse there has arisen an almost frenetic tendency to read specific historical reference into these
purely figurative names. Consequently, the literature on the subject is cluttered up with all kinds of
ingenious, but usually very forced, attempts to give them specific setting in the Hellenistic or Roman
periods.
It has been assumed, for instance, that the 'Kittians of Assyria' and the 'Kittians of Egypt' are
necessarily the Seleucid and Ptolemaic empires; that the sect really migrated, allegedly in the face of
the Roman troops, from the western shores of the Dead Sea to the region of Damascus; and that 'the
house of Absalom' may have been that of an Absalom mentioned casually in the First Book of the
Maccabees (11.70; 13.11) or of the son of John Hyrcanus I who bore that name (Josephus, Ant., XIV,
4.4)!
Nowhere has this 'historicizing' tendency (or aberration) played more havoc than in the attempts
which have been made to weld the several references to 'the teacher of righteousness' into a single
consistent biography, and to reconstruct from the collateral allusions to a 'wicked priest' and a 'man of
lies' who persecuted him a specific historical
situation. All sorts of characters (Onias, Menelaus, Antiochus Epiphanes, Alexander Jannaeus, John
Hyrcanus, Mattathias, the father of Judas Maccabaeus—even Jesus, John the Baptist, and Paul) have
been proposed to fill these several roles. If, however, we look at the data without prejudice or
preconception, it is pretty apparent that the 'teacher of righteousness' denotes a continuing office
rather than a particular individual, and that the various allusions to him are not in fact to one and the
same person.
In the 'Zadokite1 Document, for example, we are told that God raised up a 'teacher of righteousness'
some twenty years after the beginning of a 390-year period of His displeasure, calculated from the
capture of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. This evidently refers to Nehemiah or— perhaps more
probably, seeing that he was a priest—to Ezra. On the other hand, we are told in the same document
(ix.29ff.) that 'about forty years will elapse from the death of the teacher of righteousness until all who
have taken up arms and relapsed in the company of the Man of Falsehood are finally destroyed'.
Here, obviously, the reference is to a future teacher, one who will arise to occupy the traditional office
in advance of that forty-year period of 'Messianic woes' of which we indeed read in Talmudic and
later rabbinic literature. This figure is, in fact, a prototype of the Arabic Mandi.
Similarly, if we go soberly through the several references to the 'teacher of righteousness' in the
Commentary on Habakkuk, it soon becomes apparent that the author is simply citing a number of
historical incidents which might illustrate the prophet's words. There is no compelling reason why
they should be taken to constitute a connected biographical narrative.
Thus, when he interprets the verse (1.13), 'Why do ye look on, ye traitors, and keep silent when the
wicked confounds one more righteous than he?' as referring to 'the "house of Absalom" and the men
of their company who kept silent when charges were brought against the teacher of righteousness, and
who did not come to his aid against the man of lies', he may be referring to an historical incident
which involved one particular teacher of righteousness'; while when he speaks (in the comment on
2.15) of such a teacher's having once been vexed by a wicked priest who attempted (apparently) to
usurp his office, he may be referring to quite a different person living at quite a different period.
Indeed, it is significant in this respect that the fragmentary Commentary on Micah (1.5) actually
speaks of 'teachers of righteousness', and that this is not simply a scribal error (as some scholars have
all too rashly supposed) is shown by the fact that the expression serves to explain a word in the
Scriptural text which is itself in the plural.
Similarly, too, the allusion (in The Manual of Discipline for the Future Congregation of Israel) to the
presence of a 'messiah' at a communal banquet is no evidence, as has been somewhat sensationally
supposed, that the Brotherhood believed in a single Christlike Teacher of Righteousness who had
suffered martyrdom but whose Second Coming was expected. For the plain fact is that the term
'messiah' there means simply 'anointed king'. The text in question gives the protocol which is to be
observed in the future dispensation, and its whole point is to emphasize that even an anointed king
will then have to yield place to an anointed priest at public gatherings!
This is not to say, of course, that specific and identifiable allusions are not of crucial importance in
determining upward and downward limits for the dates to which our texts are to be assigned. It is
simply to warn against the tendency to string such allusions together into a consistent narrative and
then to draw from that synthetic narrative far-reaching historical and doctrinal conclusions.
What we have to realize is that the commentators are merely fitting a stock set of masks ('the
righteous man', 'the wicked man', 'the foreign invader') upon a stock set of characters ('the teacher of
righteousness', 'the wicked priest', 'the Kittians'), differently identified at different epochs. We should
be alive also to the danger that the frenzied scramble for historical identification may trample the
flowerbeds.
An obsessive preoccupation with the historical context of a piece of literature can all too easily
obscure its wider significance; for real understanding it is necessary not only to know 'all about it', but
also to be sensitive to what it is all about
***
The archaeologists tell us that the Dead Sea caves are hot and dark. The same might be said of the
controversy which has raged around their contents. At this point, however, it might be healthy to stand
back a little from the din and furor and clouds of dust and try to appreciate the scriptures and the life
of the Qumran Brotherhood simply from the point of view of what they offer to religious thought and
insight.
They bespeak an experience which has been repeated often enough in history—the experience of the
typical nonconformist who combines, by a strange and wonderful alchemy, an inner quietude with an
outer fanaticism, and whose sense of God is a sense of burning fire as well as of radiant light It may
be true that the documents which have come down to us are not great literary masterpieces.
Nevertheless they are the testimonies of men who, like their greater forebear, stood in the cleft of a
rock and saw the glory of God passing by.
Notes - Introduction
1. These efforts turn mainly on two assumptions, viz. (a) that various characters described
respectively as 'the Teacher of Righteousness', the Wicked Priest', and 'the Man of Lies' are particular
individuals that can be identified; and (b) that a people called the Kittians may be identified as either
the Macedonian Greeks of the Alexandrian Empire or as the Romans. Details of the various theories
are set forth in Millar Burrows' two useful volumes: The Dead Sea Scrolls (1956) and More Light on
the Dead Sea Scrolls (1958), and in A. Dupont-Sommer's exciting work, The Essene Writings from
Qumran (1962); while a useful survey of more recent studies is provided by James A. Sanders in The
Biblical Archaeologist 36 (1973), 110-48. At the moment, it may be said, the darkness of the Dead
Sea caves has not yet been dissipated, and scholars are really in the position of eager readers guessing
the solution of a serialized 'whodunit' before the final installment has been published!
2. It may be observed that the Hebrew word for 'teacher' derives from the same verbal root as the word
'Torah'. The 'right-teacher' is therefore, in this context, 'the man who expounds the Torah aright'.
3. First: only a priest would have had uncontested authority so to lay down the law. Second, our
documents say specifically, over and over again, that the rules and standards of the community were
determined of old by 'the sons of Zadok, the priests'. Third: the Manual of Discipline affirms
expressly that 'the priests alone are to have authority in all judicial and economic matters'. Fourth: the
Prophetic Teacher who will arise at the end of the present era and usher in the Messianic Age is
invariably associated in Jewish tradition with either Elijah or Phinehas or even Melchizedek, all of
whom were priests.
4. See pp. 14, 20f.
5. Hymns iii.35-36; vi.29; x.34-35.
6. Lymns xi.13f.; xiii.11-12.
7. Hymns xv.15; frag. 9.8.
8. 'Zadokite1 Document, i.5.
9. Hymns vii.24.
10. We may safely leave out of serious consideration the alleged occurrence in this text of a phrase
reading, 'If [God] begets the Messiah'. This bizarre statement rests on nothing more substantial than an
arbitrary reading of a faded word and an even more capricious restoration of a lacuna. Such a
statement, it need scarcely be observed, would be utterly preposterous to a community of Jews
committed to belief in the Torah and in the traditional doctrines of their faith. This whole document,
in fact, has been egregiously misunderstood; see below, pp. 392ff.
11. Manual, iii.15-25; iv.16.
12. Yasna 30.2-4; 45.2.
13. Manual, iii.19.
14. De Iside et Osiride, 46-47.
15. War, xiv.14; xix.l; Hymns xii.36.
16. Yasht 30.3; Yasna 44.15; 19.11, 45.
17. War, i.14-15.
18. Quoted by Plutarch, De Iside et Osiride, 47. Re Lactantius, see F. Cumont, in Revue de l'histoire
des religions, 1931. 88f.
19. Manual, ii.8; Hymns iii.28-29; War, xiv.7.
20. Yasna 31.3; 43.4; 47.6; 51.9; Bundahesh 30.19ff.
21. Manual, iv.13.
22. Yasht 22.33.
23. Manual, iv.7-8; Hymns ix.24.
24. Hymns iii.23; xi.14, 22.
25. Yasna 55.22; Bundahesh 30.28.
26. Yasna 22.15; 24.6; 45.8; 50.4; cp. Bundahesh 31.
27. Manual, iv.20-21.
28. Yasna 31.3; cp. also 51.9.
29. Manual, iv.19-20; Hymns iii.34.
30. Manual, iv.25; Hymns xi.13-14; xii.11-13.
31. Cp. Yasna 29.1; 30.6; 48.12.
32. Bundahesh 30.17; 32.8.
33. Yasna 43.10; cp. also 29.10; 31.8.
34. Yasht 19.11ff.; Yasna 30.9; 44.2. Cp. also Diogenes Laertius, Proaem. 9; Plutarch, De Iside et
Osiride, 47.
1 - The Service Of God (Rules and Admonitions for the Elect)
---They that loved the synagogues of the pious
fled from them,
as sparrows that fly from their nest.
They wandered in deserts
that their lives might be saved from harm.
Psalms Of Solomon 17.15-16.
---Introduction
Because the Brotherhood at Qumran regarded itself as the true Congregation of Israel, charged with
the specific task of maintaining the Law and Covenant of God in an age of apostasy and confusion, of
bringing men back to the True Way before the Final Judgment overtook them, and of fighting the
ultimate battle against the heathen, it organized itself into what may fairly be described as a 'church'.
Such an organization requires a formal set of principles and a constitution, and these are set forth in the
two documents known respectively as The Manual of Discipline and The 'Zadokite' Document. (*)
The former is contained in one of the scrolls discovered at Qumran in 1947 and in fragmentary copies
subsequently brought to light. The latter, on the other hand, has been known for several years from two
twelfth-century copies found by the late Solomon Schechter, in 1896-97, and the Ezra synagogue at
Old Cairo (Fostat), where they formed part of the genizah, or repository of discarded manuscripts.
Although published as far back as 1910, it was not until the Qumran texts came to light that the true
character of this document and its relation to the Dead Sea Brotherhood were made manifest. That
relation is immediately apparent as soon as it is read alongside of the Manual; and it has been
confirmed by the fact that fragments of earlier copies have actually been found in one of the caves at
Qumran.
---[*] The title, 'Zadokite' Document, here retained purely for convenience, is in fact a misnomer, based
on the false assumption that the expression, 'sons of Zadok' which occurs in sundry passages
designates the Brotherhood as a whole (so named for its putative founder), whereas it really denotes
only the priests. Similarly, because of its references to a 'new covenant' contracted in 'the land of
Damascus', some scholars have assumed that it is the manual of discipline of the Brotherhood as
reconstituted in that city after the Romans had stormed Qumran. But, in my opinion, the references in
question are all purely figurative and typological and afford no evidence of an actual migration.
---Both documents are in the nature of compilations. They are, so to speak, communal 'commonplace
books' in which several different formulations of the Code and Principles have been bound up
together. This is especially apparent in the case of the Manual from a long interpolation reciting the
doctrine of the Two Instincts of Man (cols, iii-iv) and headed explicitly Tor the use of the Instructor'
(literally, 'him who would bring others to the inner vision'), shewing that this section was originally the
'prompt-book' for a sermon. In the case of the 'Zadokite' Document, a clear distinction can be
recognized between the initial portion, which is in the nature of a homiletical discourse about the
history of Israel and the doctrine of the Remnant, and the subsequent sections which recite the actual
rules of the community.
As we have previously pointed out, (†) there is no proof that either document was composed originally
by or for the men of Qumran. They may well represent pieces of traditional literature which
nonconformist groups like the Qumran brotherhood came readily to adopt as their models. On that
very natural assumption, it need not surprise us to find that several of the practises and institutions
prescribed in these texts in fact bear a striking similarity to those which the first-century writers
Josephus and Philo associate with the ascetic sect known as the Essenes—a sect many of whose
members were, according to Pliny the Elder, likewise settled at that time on the western shore of the
Dead Sea.
There is, for instance, basically the same system of probation and initiation; the same order of 'degrees
of purity'; the same communal ownership of property; the same communal meals; the same system of
'overseers'; the same provision against blasphemy and the like; and the same rule about speaking in
public sessions; and there was also among the Essenes the same distribution over urban and camp
settlements as is envisaged in the 'Zadokite' Document.
---[†] See above, pp. 3ff.
---Nor should it surprise us any the more that there are also significant differences, for the Essenes (like
the men of Qumran themselves) may well have accommodated the provisions of these traditional
'scriptures' to their own special needs.
There is, in short, no need to deduce from these affinities that the writers of the Scrolls and the
covenanters at Qumran were actually Essenes, and on this hypothesis to explain away the
discrepancies on the facile assumption that, after all, Philo and Josephus were describing conditions as
they obtained in the first century C.E., whereas our texts may refer to an earlier stage in the history of
the Essenes or even ascend to their putative forerunners, the Hasidim (Pious Ones) of Maccabean
times!
No less interesting, and perhaps more exciting, than their connection with the Essenes are the many
parallels which these texts afford with the organization of the primitive Christian Church. The
community calls itself by the same name ('edah) as was used by the early Christians of Palestine to
denote the Church. The same term is employed to designate its legislative assembly as was used by
that community to denote the council of the Church. There are twelve 'men of holiness' who act as
general guides of the community—a remarkable correspondence with the Twelve Apostles.
These men have three superiors, answering to the designation of John, Peter and James as the three
pillars of the Church (Gal. 2.9f.). There is a regular system of mebaqqerim or 'overseers'—an exact
equivalent of the Greek episkopoi, or 'bishops' (before they had acquired sacerdotal functions). And
the Brotherhood describes itself as 'preparing the way in the desert'—words which John the Baptist
likewise quoted from the Old Testament in defining his mission (John 1.23).
The Manual of Discipline and the 'Zadokite1 Document may be compared, in fact, with the Didache,
the Didascalia Apostolorum and the Apostolic Constitutions—the primary documents relating to the
organization of the primitive Church. Indeed, if we get away from the Greek terminology in which the
details of that organization have mostly come down to us, and if we translate it back into Hebrew or
Aramaic, we shall find that it bears a quite remarkable correspondence to that found in the Qumran
texts, showing that the latter reflect a type of religious organization upon which the early Christian
Church was largely patterned.
A supplement to these two major documents is the fragmentary text usually known as Ordinances but
here entitled The Letter of the Law. This is part of a systematic guide (somewhat in the style of the
Mishnah) to the practical application of the Mosaic Law. Whether it was intended as a regulatory code
for the existent Brotherhood or for the future regenerated House of Israel cannot be determined, nor
whether it is really part of The Book of Study [H-g-u/y=] prescribed elsewhere in the Scrolls as
'required reading'.
A pendant to these documents is the fragmentary Formulary of Blessings.
This little document gives the protocol for the exchange of greetings ('blessings') between members of
the community. These greetings are based on the Priestly Benediction in the Biblical Book of Numbers
(6.24-26), the ancient words being so interpreted and elaborated in each case as to bear special
application to the person addressed. The interpretations rest on the device, familiar from rabbinic
literature, of reading further meaning into a Scriptural text by mentally correlating it with other
passages in which the same words are used in different contexts.
Thus, the phrase, 'The Lord bless thee' is tacitly associated with such a passage as Psalm 68.26, where
the word 'bless' occurs beside the expression, 'fountain of Israel'. This at once suggests the thought that
the blessing is to consist in draughts from the Divine Fountain.
Similarly, the phrase, 'and keep thee' at once recalls such passages as Deuteronomy 7.12: The Lord
shall keep with thee the covenant', or Psalm 121.7: The Lord shall keep thee from all evil'.
Accordingly, it evokes the idea that the blessing is to consist in maintenance of the Covenant and in
protection from satanic influences.
Again, the words, The Lord lift up His countenance' are interpreted in the light of the various senses of
the word 'lift', e.g., of lifting the soul from the pit, the sword and standard in battle, obstacles from the
path.
This method of interpreting the Priestly Benediction may be admirably illustrated from the way in
which it is in fact expounded in the rabbinic classic, Sifre (‡), a compilation made from earlier sources
in the third century C.E.:
And keep thee: Rabbi Isaac says: This means, keep thee from the evil inclination, even as the Scripture
declares, The Lord will be thy confidence, and will keep thy foot from being caught' (Prov. 3.26).
Another explanation is that the words mean, keep thee from the demons, even as the Scripture says,
'He giveth His angels charge over thee, to keep thee from all evil' (Ps. 91.11). Yet another explanation
is that they mean that God will keep unto thee the covenant made with thy fathers, as it is said, The
Lord thy God will keep for thee the covenant and the mercy which He swore unto thy fathers' (Deut
7.12).
Or again, the words may be taken to mean that God will keep (hi mind) for thee the appointed
consummation, as the Scripture says: 'Watchman (Heb. Keeper), what of the night? Watchman, what
of the night? Saith the Watchman (i.e., He who keeps the tune in mind), 'Morning cometh, though now
it be night' (Isa. 21.11-12). Lastly, the words may be referred to God's keeping thy soul at the hour of
death, even as the Scripture says, The soul of my lord shall be bound up (i.e., kept tight) in the bond of
life' (I Sam. 25.29); or of His keeping thy feet from hell, as it is said, 'He will keep the feet of His
pious ones' (I Sam. 2.9).
The same compilation, it may be added, also records interpretations of the words, The Lord make His
face to shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee', which are in perfect agreement with those given in
our little document:
Be gracious unto thee: This means, give thee grace in the sight of all creatures...or, give thee the grace
of knowledge and understanding and intelligence and instruction and wisdom...or, again, grace thee
with study of the Torah.
In prescribing the greetings ('blessings') of the priests in general and of the high priest in particular, our
document adopts yet another device. It plays on the various outward symbols of the priestly office.
Thus, since the priest ministered in the 'holy place', the blessing is invoked upon him that he may
minister hereafter in the celestial 'holy place'; since the high priest wore a crown or mitre, it is invoked
upon him that he be crowned by God with the diadem of eternal honor.
Since the priest normally received the first portion of the offerings, he is saluted with the hope that he
may enjoy 'the first portion of delights'; and since he is a ministrant at the altar, that he may 'share the
lot of the ministering angels'. (This last, it may be observed, likewise has a remarkable parallel in Sifre
(‡). 'When Torah issues from the priests' mouths', we read, 'God speaks of them as if they were
ministering angels' [Korah, §119]).
Our text bears the title Tor the Maskil'. The same title recurs in the Manual of Discipline in the passage
dealing with the two spirits which God has placed in every man (cols, iii-iv). It is not quite certain
what the Hebrew word Maskil means in these contexts. Formally, it can denote either (a) one endowed
with inner vision, or (b) one who seeks to impart such vision to others, (‡) If it bears the latter sense, it
is possible that both our present text and the passage in the Manual were originally designed as 'model
sermons' for the religious instructors of the community.
Indeed, we may even venture the conjecture that they were expository discourses designed to
accompany readings from the Law; our present document being geared to that section of the Book of
Numbers which includes the Priestly Benediction, and the passage in the Manual to some such 'lesson'
as Deuteronomy 11.26ff ('Behold I set before you this day a blessing and a curse'). Josephus tells us
explicitly that among the Essenes such expositions were a regular feature of the sabbath services.
The text of this document is very fragmentary, and in some cases the rubrics indicating to whom a
particular blessing is addressed are missing. But the tenor of the blessing itself usually indicates who is
intended. In this matter I have followed the suggestions of the original editors. For the rest, my
restorations (indicated by brackets) are based on a recognition of that underlying method of Scriptural
exegesis which has been outlined above.
---[‡] The word occurs in this latter sense in Dan. 12.3 where, however, it is commonly rendered 'they
that are wise'.
---The Manual Of Discipline
Of the Commitment (i, 1-15)
Everyone who wishes to join the community must pledge himself to respect God and man; to live
according to the communal rule: to seek God [ ]; to do what is good and upright in His sight in
accordance with what He has commanded through Moses and through His servants the prophets; to
love all that He has chosen and hate all that He has rejected to keep far from all evil and to cling to all
good worksite act truthfully and righteously and justly on earth and to walk no more in the
stubbornness of a guilty heart (1) and of lustful eyes, (2) doing all manner of evil; to bring into a bond
of mutual love all who have declared their willingness to carry out the statutes of God; to join the
formal community of God; to walk blamelessly before Him in conformity with all that has been
revealed as relevant to the several periods during which they are to bear witness (to Him; to love all
the children of light, (3) each according to his stake in the formal community of God; and to hate all
the children of darkness, each according to the measure of his guilt, which God will ultimately requite.
All who declare their willingness to serve God's truth must bring all of their mind, all of their strength,
and all of their wealth into the community of God, (4) so that their minds may be purified by the truth
of His precepts, their strength controlled by His perfect ways, and their wealth disposed in accordance
with His just design. They must not deviate by a single step from carrying out the orders of God at the
times appointed for them; they must neither advance the statutory times nor postpone the prescribed
seasons. (5) They must not turn aside from the ordinances of God's truth (6) either to the right or to the
left.
=======
Of Initiation (i, 16-ii, 18)
---Moreover, all who would join the ranks of the community must enter into a covenant in the presence
of God to do according to all that He has commanded and not to turn away from Him through any fear
or terror (7) or through any trial to which they may be subjected through the domination of Belial. (8)
When they enter into that covenant, the priests and the levites are to pronounce a blessing upon the
God of salvation and upon all that He does to make known His truth; and all that enter the covenant
are to say after them, Amen, amen. (9)
Then the priests are to rehearse the bounteous acts of God as revealed in all His deeds of power, and
they are to recite all His tender mercies towards Israel; while the levites are to rehearse the iniquities of
the children of Israel and all the guilty transgressions and sins that they have committed through the
domination of Belial.
And all who enter the covenant are to make confession after them, saying, We have acted perversely,
we have transgressed, we have sinned, we have done wickedly, ourselves and our fathers before us, in
that we have gone counter to the truth. God has been right to bring His judgment upon us and upon our
fathers. (10) Howbeit, always from ancient times He has also bestowed His mercies upon us, and so
will He do for all time to come.
Then the priests are to invoke a blessing on all that have cast their lot with God, (11) that walk
blamelessly in all their ways; and they are to say: MAY HE BLESS THEE with all good and KEEP
THEE from all evil, and ILLUMINE thy heart with insight into the things of life, and GRACE THEE
with knowledge of things eternal, and LIFT UP HIS gracious COUNTENANCE TOWARDS THEE to
grant thee peace everlasting. (12)
The levites, on the other hand, are to invoke a curse on all that have cast their lot with Belial, and to
say in response: Cursed art thou for all thy wicked guilty works. May God make thee a thing of
abhorrence at the hands of all who would wreak vengeance, and visit thine offspring with destruction
at the hands of all who would mete out retribution. Cursed art thou, beyond hope of mercy.
Even as thy works are wrought in darkness, so mayest thou be damned in the gloom of the fire eternal.
(13) May God show thee no favor when thou callest, neither pardon to forgive thine iniquities. May He
lift up an angry countenance towards thee, to wreak vengeance upon thee. May no man wish thee
peace of all that truly claim their patrimony. (14)
And all that enter the covenant shall say alike after them that bless and after them that curse, Amen,
amen.
Thereupon the priests and the levites shall continue and say: Cursed be every one that hath come to
enter this covenant (15) with the taint of idolatry in his heart and who hath set his iniquity as a
stumblingblock before him (16) so that thereby he may defect, and who, when he hears the terms of
this covenant, blesses himself in his heart, saying, May it go well with me, for I shall go on walking in
the stubbornness of my heart! Whether he satisfy his passions or whether he still thirst for their
fulfillment, (17) may his spirit be swept away and receive no pardon.
May the anger of God and the fury of His judgments consume him as by fire unto his eternal
extinction, and may there cleave unto him all the curses threatened in this covenant. May God set him
apart for misfortune, and may he be cut off from the midst of all the children of light in that through
the taint of his idolatry (18) and through the stumblingblock of his iniquity he has defected from God.
May God set his lot among those that are accursed for ever! And all who have been admitted to the
covenant shall say after them in response, Amen, amen.
=======
Of The Annual Review (ii, 19-25)
---The following procedure is to be followed year by year so long as Belial continues to hold sway.
The priests are first to be reviewed in due order, one after another, in respect of the state of their
spirits. After them, the levites shall be similarly reviewed, and in the third place all the laity (19) one
after another, in their thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.
The object is that every man in Israel may be made aware of his status in the community of God in the
sense of the ideal, eternal society, (20) and that none may be abased below his status nor exalted above
his allotted place. All of them will thus be members of a community founded at once upon true values
and upon a becoming sense of humility, upon charity and mutual fairness—members of a society truly
hallowed, partners in an everlasting communion. (21)
=======
Of Those Who Are To Be Excluded (ii, 25-iii, 12)
--Anyone who refuses to enter the (ideal) society of God and persists in walking in the stubbornness of
his heart shall not be admitted to this community of God's truth. For inasmuch as his soul has revolted
at the discipline entailed in a knowledge of God's righteous judgments, he has shown no real strength
in amending his way of life, and therefore cannot be reckoned with the upright. The mental, physical
and material resources of such a man are not to be introduced into the stock of the community, for
such a man 'plows in the slime of wickedness' (22) and 'there are stains on his repentance'. He is not
honest in resolving the stubbornness of his heart.
On paths of light he sees but darkness. Such a man cannot be reckoned as among those essentially
blameless. He cannot be cleared by mere ceremonies of atonement, nor cleansed by any waters of
ablution, nor sanctified by immersion in lakes or rivers, nor purified by any bath. Unclean, unclean he
remains so long as he rejects the government of God and refuses the discipline of communion with
Him.
For it is only through the spiritual apprehension of God's truth that man's ways can be properly
directed. Only thus can all his iniquities be shriven so that he can gaze upon the true light of life. Only
through the holy spirit can he achieve union with God's truth and be purged of all his iniquities. (23)
Only by a spirit of uprightness and humility can his sin be atoned.
Only by the submission of his soul to all the ordinances of God can his flesh be made clean. Only thus
can it really be sprinkled with waters of ablution. Only thus can it really be sanctified by waters of
purification. And only thus can he really direct his steps to walk blamelessly through all the
vicissitudes of his destiny in all the ways of God in the manner which He has commanded, without
turning either to the right or to the left and without overstepping any of God's words. Then indeed will
he be acceptable before God like an atonement-offering which meets with His pleasure, and then
indeed will he be admitted to the covenant of the community for ever.
=======
Of The Two Spirits In Man (iii, 13-iv, 26)
---This is for the man who would bring others to the inner vision, (24) so that he may understand and
teach to all the children of light the real nature of men, touching the different varieties of their
temperaments with the distinguishing traits thereof, touching their actions throughout their
generations, and touching the reason why they are now visited with afflictions and now enjoy periods
of well-being.
All that is and ever was comes from a God of knowledge. (25) Before things came into existence He
determined the plan of them; and when they fill their appointed roles, it is in accordance with His
glorious design that they discharge their functions. Nothing can be changed. In His hand lies the
government of all things. God it is that sustains them in their needs.
Now, this God created man to rule the world, and appointed for him two spirits after whose direction
he was to walk until the final Inquisition. (26) They are the spirits of truth and of perversity.
The origin of truth lies in the Fountain of Light, and that of perversity in the Wellspring of Darkness.
All who practice righteousness are under the domination of the Prince of Lights, (27) and walk in ways
of light; whereas all who practice perversity are under the domination of the Angel of Darkness and
walk in ways of darkness. Through the Angel of Darkness, (28) however, even those who practice
righteousness are made liable to error.
All their sin and their iniquities, all their guilt and their deeds of transgression are the result of his
domination; and this, by God's inscrutable design, will continue until the time appointed by Him.
Moreover, all men's afflictions and all their moments of tribulation are due to this being's malevolent
sway. (29) All of the spirits that attend upon him are bent on causing the sons of light to stumble.
Howbeit, the God of Israel and the Angel of His truth (30) are always there to help the sons of light.
It is God that created these spirits of light and darkness and made them the basis of every act, the
[instigators] of every deed and the directors of every thought. The one He loves to all eternity, and is
ever pleased with its deeds; but any association with the other He abhors, and He hates all its ways to
the end of time.
This is the way those spirits operate in the world. The enlightenment of man's heart, the making
straight before him all the ways of righteousness and truth, the implanting in his heart of fear for the
judgments of God, of a spirit of humility, of patience, of abundant compassion, of perpetual goodness,
of insight, of perception, of that sense of the Divine Power that is based at once on an apprehension of
God's works and a reliance on His plenteous mercy, of a spirit of knowledge informing every plan of
action, of a zeal for righteous government, of a hallowed mind in a controlled nature, of abounding
love for all who follow the truth, of a self-respecting purity which abhors all the taint of filth, of a
modesty of behavior coupled with a general prudence and an ability to hide within oneself the secrets
of what one knows (31)—these are the things that come to men in this world through communion with
the spirit of truth. (32)
And the guerdon of all that walk in its ways is health and abundant well-being, with long Me and
fruition of seed along with eternal blessings and everlasting joy in the life everlasting, and a crown of
glory (33) and a robe of honor, (34) amid light perpetual.
But to the spirit of perversity belong greed, remissness in right-doing, wickedness and falsehood, pride
and presumption, ruthless deception and guile, abundant insolence, shortness of temper and profusion
of folly, arrogant passion, abominable acts in a spirit of lewdness, filthy ways in the thralldom of
unchastity, a blasphemous tongue, blindness of eyes, dullness of ears, stiffness of neck and hardness of
heart, to the end that a man walks entirely in ways of darkness and of evil cunning. (35)
The guerdon of all who walk in such ways is multitude of afflictions at the hands of all the angels of
destruction, (36) everlasting perdition through the angry wrath of an avenging God, eternal horror and
perpetual reproach, the disgrace of final annihilation in the Fire, darkness throughout the vicissitudes
of life in every generation, doleful sorrow, bitter misfortune and darkling ruin—ending in extinction
without remnant or survival.
It is to these things that all men are born, and it is to these that all the host of them are heirs throughout
their generations. It is in these ways that men needs must walk and it is in these two divisions,
according as a man inherits something of each, that all human acts are divided throughout all the ages
of eternity. For God has appointed these two things to obtain in equal measure until the final age.
Between the two categories He has set an eternal enmity. Deeds of perversity are an abomination to
Truth, while all the ways of Truth are an abomination to perversity; and there is a constant jealous
rivalry between their two regimes, for they do not march in accord. Howbeit, God in His inscrutable
wisdom has appointed a term for the existence of perversity, and when the tune of Inquisition comes,
He will destroy it for ever.
Then truth will emerge triumphant for the world, albeit now and until the time of the final judgment it
go sullying itself in the ways of wickedness owing to the domination of perversity. Then, too, God will
purge all the acts of man in the crucible of His truth, and refine for Himself all the fabric of man,
destroying every spirit of perversity from within his flesh and cleansing him by the holy spirit from all
the effects of wickedness.
Like waters of purification He will sprinkle upon him the spirit of truth, (37) to cleanse him of all the
abominations of falsehood and of all pollution through the spirit of filth; to the end that, being made
upright, men may have understanding of transcendental knowledge and of the lore of the sons of
heaven, (38) and that, being made blameless in their ways, they may be endowed with inner vision.
For them has God chosen to be the partners of His eternal covenant, and theirs shall be all mortal
glory. (39) Perversity shall be no more, and all works of deceit shall be put to shame.
Thus far, the spirits of truth and perversity have been struggling in the heart of man. Men have walked
both in wisdom and in folly. If a man casts his portion with truth, he does righteously and hates
perversity; if he casts it with perversity, he does wickedly and abominates truth. For God has
apportioned them in equal measure until the final age, until 'He makes all things new'. (40) He
foreknows the effect of their works in every epoch of the world, and He has made men heirs to them
that they might know good and evil. But [when the time] of Inquisition [comes], He will determine the
fate of every living being in accordance with which of the [two spirits he has chosen to follow].
=======
Of Social Relations (v, 1-7)
---This is the rule for all the members of the community— that is, for such as have declared their
readiness to turn away from all evil and to adhere to all that God in His good pleasure has commanded.
They are to keep apart from the company of the froward.
They are to belong to the community in both a doctrinal and an economic sense.
They are to abide by the decisions of the sons of Zadok, (41) the same being priests that still keep the
Covenant, and of the majority of the community that stand firm in it. It is by the vote of such that all
matters doctrinal, economic and judicial are to be determined.
They are concertedly and in all Their pursuits to practise truth, humility, righteousness, justice, charity
and decency, with no one walking in the stubbornness of his own heart or going astray after his heart
or his eyes or his fallible human mind.
Furthermore, they are concertedly to remove the impurity of their human mold, and likewise all
stiffneckedness.
They are to establish in Israel a solid basis of truth.
They are to unite in a bond indissoluble for ever.
They are to extend forgiveness to all among the priesthood that have freely enlisted in the cause of
holiness, and to all among the laity that have done so in the cause of truth, and likewise to all that have
associated themselves with them. (42)
They are to make common cause both in the struggle and in the upshot of it.
They are to regard as felons all that transgress the law.
=======
Of The Obligation Of Holiness (v, 7-20)
---And this is the way in which all those ordinances are to be applied on a collective basis.
Everyone who is admitted to the formal organization (*) of the community is to enter into a covenant
of God in the presence of all fellow-volunteers in the cause and to commit himself by a binding oath
(43) to return with all his heart and soul to the commandments of the Law of Moses, as that Law is
revealed to the sons of Zadok—that is, to the priests who still keep the Covenant and seek God's will
—and to a majority of their co-covenanters who have volunteered together to adhere to the truth of
God and to walk according to His pleasure.
He that so commits himself is to keep apart from all froward men that walk in the path of wickedness;
for such men are not to be reckoned in the Covenant inasmuch as they have never sought nor studied
God's ordinances in order to find out on what more arcane points they may guiltily have gone astray,
while in regard to the things which stand patently revealed they have acted highhandedly. They have
thus incurred God's angry judgment and caused Him to take vengeance upon them with all the curses
threatened in the Covenant (44) and to wreak great judgments upon them that they be finally destroyed
without remnant.
----
[*] Heb. 'council'.
---No one is to go into water in order to attain the purity of holy men. (45) For men cannot be purified
except they repent their evil. God regards as impure all that transgress His word. No one is to have any
association with such a man either in work or in goods, lest he incur the penalty of prosecution. Rather
is he to keep away from such a man in every respect, for the Scripture says: 'Keep away from every
false thing' [Ex. 23.7]. (46) No member of the community is to abide by the decision of such men in
any matter of doctrine or law.
He is not to eat or drink of anything that belongs to them nor to receive anything from them except for
cash, even as it is written: 'Desist from man whose breath is in his nostrils, for as what is he reckoned?'
[Isa. 2.22] , (47) All that are not reckoned in the Covenant must be put aside, and likewise all that they
possess. A holy man must not rely on works of vanity, and vanity is what all of them are that have not
recognized God's Covenant. All that spurn His word will God blast out of the world. All their actions
are as filth before Him, and He regards all their possessions as unclean.
=======
Of The Examination Of Initiants (v, 20-24)
---When a man enters the covenant, minded to act in accordance with all the foregoing ordinances and
formally to ally himself to the holy congregation, inquiry is to be made concerning his temper in
human relations and his understanding and performance in matters of doctrine. This inquiry is to be
conducted jointly by the priests who have undertaken concertedly to uphold God's Covenant and to
supervise the execution of all the ordinances which He has commanded, and by a majority of the laity
who have likewise undertaken concertedly to return to that Covenant.
Every man is then to be registered in a particular rank, one after the other, by the standard of his
understanding and performance. The object is that each person will be rendered subject to his superior.
Their spiritual attitudes and their performance are to be reviewed, however, year by year, some being
then promoted by virtue of their (improved) understanding and the integrity of their conduct, and
others demoted for their waywardness.
=======
Of Accusations And Grudges (v, 24—vi, 1)
---When anyone has a charge against his neighbor, he is to prosecute it truthfully, humbly and humanely.
He is not to speak to him angrily or querulously or arrogantly or in any wicked mood. (48) He is not to
bear hatred [towards him in the inner recesses] of his heart. When he has a charge against him, he is to
proffer it then and there (†) and not to render himself liable to penalty by nursing a grudge.
Furthermore, no man is to bring a charge publicly against his neighbor except he prove it by witnesses.
---[†] Heb. 'on the selfsame day'.
---=======
Of Communal Duties (vi, 1-8)
---This is the procedure which all members of the community are to follow in all dealings with one
another, wherever they dwell.
Everyone is to obey his superior in rank (49) in all matters of work or money. But all are to dine
together, worship together and take counsel together. (50)
Wherever there be ten men (51) who have been formally enrolled in the community, one who is a
priest is not to depart from them. When they sit in his presence, they are to take their places according
to their respective ranks; and the same order is to obtain when they meet for common counsel.
When they set the table for a meal or prepare wine to drink, the priest is first to put forth his hand to
invoke a blessing on the first portion of the bread or wine. (52)
In any place where there happen to be ten such men, there is not to be absent from them one who will
be available at all times, day and night, to interpret the Law (Torah) (53) each of them doing so in turn.
The general members of the community are to keep awake for a third of all the nights of the year
reading book(s), (‡) studying the Law and worshiping together. (54)
---[‡] Or, 'the Book (of the Law)'.
---=======
Of The General Council (vi, 8-13)
---This is the rule covering public sessions.
The priests are to occupy the first place. The elders are to come second; and the rest of the people are
to take their places according to their respective ranks. This order is to obtain alike when they seek a
judicial ruling, when they meet for common counsel, or when any matter arises of general concern.
Everyone is to have an opportunity of rendering his opinion in the common council No one, however,
is to interrupt while his neighbor is speaking, or to speak until the latter has finished. (55) Furthermore,
no one is to speak in advance of his prescribed rank. Everyone is to speak in turn, as he is called upon.
In public sessions, no one is to speak on any subject that is not of concern to (§) the company as a
whole. (56) If the superintendent (57) of the general membership or anyone who is not of the same
rank as the person who happens to be raising a question for the consideration of the community, has
something to say to the company, he is to stand up and declare: I have something to say to the
company; and only if they so bid him, is he to speak.
---[§] Or, 'to the liking of.
---=======
Of Postulants And Novices (vi, 13-23)
---If any man in Israel wish to be affiliated to the formal congregation of the community, the
superintendent of the general membership is to examine him as to his intelligence and his actions and,
if he then embark on a course of training, he is to have him enter into a covenant to return to the truth
and turn away from all perversity. Then he is to apprise him of all the rules of the community.
Subsequently, when that man comes to present himself to the general membership, everyone is to be
asked his opinion about him, and his admission to or rejection from the formal congregation of the
community is to be determined by general vote.
No candidate, however, is to be admitted to the formal state of purity enjoyed by the general
membership of the community (58) until, at the completion of a full year, his spiritual attitude and his
performance have been duly reviewed. Meanwhile he is to have no stake in the common funds. (59)
After he has spent a full year in the midst of the community, the members are jointly to review his
case, as to his understanding and performance in matters of doctrine. If it then be voted by the opinion
of the priests and of a majority of their co-covenanters to admit him to the sodality, they are to have
him bring with him all his property and the tools of his profession. These are to be committed to the
custody of the community's 'minister of works'. They are to be entered by that officer into an account,
but he is not to disburse them for the general benefit.
Not until the completion of a second year among the members of the community is the candidate to be
admitted to the common board. (**) (60) When, however, that second year has been completed, he is
to be subjected to a further review by the general membership, (61) and if it then be voted to admit him
to the community, he is to be registered in the due order of rank which he is to occupy among his
brethren in all matters pertaining to doctrine, judicial procedure, degree of purity and share in the
common funds. Thenceforth his counsel and his judgment are to be at the disposal of the community.
---(**) Heb. 'drink'.
---=======
Of False, Impudent And Blasphemous Speech (vi, 23-vii, 5)
---And these are the rules to be followed in the interpretation of the law regarding forms of speech.
If there be found in the community a man who consciously lies in the matter of (his) wealth, he is to be
regarded as outside the state of purity entailed by membership, and he is to be mulcted of one fourth of
his food ration.
If a man answer his neighbor defiantly or speak brusquely so as to undermine the composure (††) of
his fellow, and in so doing flout the orders of one who is registered as his superior [ ], (‡‡) he is to be
mulcted for one year.
If a man, in speaking about anything, mention that Name which is honored above all [names], (§§)
(62) or if, in a moment of sudden stress or for some other personal reason, he curse the (i.e., the man
who reads the Book of the Law or leads worship), (*) (63) he is to be put out and never to return to
formal membership in the community.
If a man speak in anger against one of the registered priests, he is to be mulcted for one year, placed in
isolation, and regarded as outside the state of purity entailed in membership of the community. If,
however, he spoke unintentionally, he is to be mulcted only for six months.
If a man dissemble about what he really knows, he is to be mulcted for six months.
If a man defames his neighbor unjustly, and does so deliberately, he is to be mulcted for one year and
regarded as 'outside'.
---[††] Heb. 'shake (or, disturb) the foundation'.
[‡‡] An imperfectly preserved phrase follows in the text Possibly, it means, 'And if his hand act
wickedly against him', i.e., if he bodily assaults him.
[§§] I.e., the name of God.
[*] This, gap and all, is how the text reads in the original. It is apparent that the scribe found in the
archetype (or heard from dictation?) a rare word which he did not understand fully. He therefore left a
blank, but added a gloss giving the approximate sense. The word must have been a technical term for
something like 'precentor' or 'deacon'.
=======
Of Fraud (vii, 5-8)
---If a man speak with his neighbor in guile or consciously practice deceit upon him, he is to be mulcted
for six months. If, however, he practices the deceit [unintention-ally], (†) he is to be mulcted only for
three months.
If a man defraud the community, causing a deficit in its funds, he is to make good that deficit If he lack
means to do so, he is to be mulcted for sixty days.
---[†] There is again a blank in the original. The scribe evidently could not decipher the word in his
archetype, but the sense is clear.
---=======
Of Vindictiveness (vii, 8-9)
----
If he harbor a grudge against his neighbor without legitimate cause, he is to be mulcted for six months
[supra-linear correction: 'one year']. The same is to apply also to anyone who takes personal revenge
on his neighbor in any respect.
=======
Of Improper Speech (vii, 9)
---Anyone who indulges in indecent talk is to be mulcted for three months.
=======
Of Misconduct At Public Sessions (vii, 9-12)
---Anyone who interrupts his neighbor in a public session is to be mulcted for ten days.
Anyone who lies down and goes to sleep at a public session is to be mulcted for thirty days.
Anyone who leaves a public session gratuitously and without reason for as many as three times during
one sitting is to be mulcted for ten days. If he leaves while everyone else is standing(?), (‡) he is to be
mulcted for thirty days.
---[‡] This word is partly obliterated. The sense is therefore obscure.
=======
Of Indecorous Acts (vii, 12-15)
---If, except he be under duress, (?) (§) a man walk naked before his neighbor, he shall be mulcted for six
months.
If a man spit into the midst of a public session, he shall be mulcted for thirty days.
If a man bring out his hand from under his cloak, and so expose himself that his private parts become
visible, he shall be mulcted for thirty days.
If a man indulge in raucous, inane laughter, he shall be mulcted for thirty days.
If a man put forth his left hand (64) to gesticulate with it in conversation, he shall be mulcted for ten
days.
---[§] Heb. uncertain.
---=======
Of Slander And Incrimination (vii, 15-18)
---If a man slander his neighbor, he shall be regarded as outside the communal state of purity for one
year, and he shall also be mulcted. But if he slander the entire group, he is to be expelled and never to
return.
If a man complain against the whole basis of the community, he is to be expelled irrevocably.
If he complain against his neighbor without legitimate cause, he is to be mulcted for six months.
=======
Of Defection (vii, 18-25)
---If a man's spirit waver so far from the basis of the community that he betray the truth and walk in the
stubbornness of his own heart, but if he subsequently repent, he shall be mulcted for two years. During
the first, he shall be regarded as outside the communal state of purity altogether.
During the second, he shall be excluded only from the communal board (**) and occupy a place
behind all the other members. At the completion of the two years, the membership in general shall
hold an enquiry about him. If it then be decided to readmit him, he shall again be registered with duly
assigned rank and thereafter he too shall be called upon to render his opinion in deliberations
concerning the rules.
If a man has been a formal member of the community for a full ten years, but then, through a spiritual
relapse, betray the principles of the community and quit the general body in order to walk in the
stubbornness of his own heart, he is never to return to formal membership in the community. No
member of the community is to associate with him either by recognizing him as of the same state of
purity or by sharing property with him. Any of the members who does so shall be liable to the same
sentence: he too shall be expelled. (65)
---(**) Heb. 'drink'.
---=======
Of The Appointment Of 'Presbyters' (viii, 1-19)
---In the deliberative council of the community there shall be twelve laymen and three priests schooled to
perfection in all that has been revealed of the entire Law. (66) Their duty shall be to set the standard
for the practice of truth, righteousness and justice, and for the exercise of charity and humility in
human relations; and to show how, by control of impulse and contrition of spirit, faithfulness may be
maintained on earth; how, by active performance of justice and passive submission to the trials of
chastisement, iniquity may be cleared, and how one can walk with all men with the quality of truth and
in conduct appropriate to every occasion.
So long as these men exist in Israel, the deliberative council of the community will rest securely on a
basis of truth. It will become a plant evergreen. Insofar as the laymen are concerned, it will be indeed a
sanctuary; and insofar as the priesthood is concerned, it will indeed constitute the basis for a true 'holy
of holies'.
The members of the community will be in all justice the witnesses of God's truth and the elect of His
favor, (67) effecting atonement for the earth and ensuring the requital of the wicked. They will be,
indeed, a tested bulwark' and 'a precious cornerstone' [cf. Isa. 28.16], (68) which shall never be shaken
or moved from their place.
As for the priesthood, they shall be a seat for the holy of holies, inasmuch as all of them will then have
knowledge of the Covenant of justice and all of them be qualified to offer what will be indeed 'a
pleasant savor' to the Lord. And as for the laity, they will constitute a household of integrity and truth,
qualified to maintain the Covenant as an everlasting pact. They shall prove acceptable to God, so that
He will shrive the earth of its guilt, bring final judgment upon wickedness, and perversity shall be no
more.
When these men have undergone, with blamelessness of conduct, a two-year preparation in the
fundamentals of the community, they shall be segregated as especially sacred among the formal
members of the community. Any knowledge which the expositor of the law may possess but which
may have to remain arcane to the ordinary layman, he shall not keep hidden from them; for in their
case there need be no fear that it might induce apostasy. (69)
When these men exist in Israel, these are the provisions whereby they are to be kept apart from any
consort with froward men, to the end that they may indeed 'go into the wilderness to prepare the way',
i.e., do what Scripture enjoins when it says, 'Prepare in the wilderness the way ... make straight in the
desert a highway for our God' [Isa. 40.3]. (70) (The reference is to the study of the Law which God
commanded through Moses to the end that, as occasion arises, all things may be done in accordance
with what is revealed therein and with what the prophets also have revealed through God's holy spirit.)
No member of the community—that is, no duly covenanted member—who blatantly deviates in any
particular from the total body of commandments is to be permitted to come into contact with the purity
enjoyed by these specially holy men or to benefit by (††) their counsel until his actions be free of all
perversity and he has been readmitted to the common council by decision of the general membership
and thereupon reinstated in his rank. The same rule is to apply also to novices.
---[††] Heb. 'know'.
---=======
Of The Conduct Of 'Presbyters' (viii, 20-ix, 6)
---These are the rules of conduct for the 'men of perfect holiness' in their dealings with one another.
If any of those that have been admitted to the degree of special sanctity—that is, to the degree of 'those
that walk blamelessly in the way as God has commanded'—transgress a single word of the Law of
Moses either blatantly or deviously, he is to be excommunicated and never to return. No other person
in the degree of the specially holy is to have anything to do with him in the sharing either of property
or of counsel.
If, however, he erred unintentionally, he is to be debarred only from that particular degree of purity
and from participation in the common council. This is to be interpreted to mean that he is not to render
any judgment nor is his counsel to be invited in any matter for a full two years. This holds good,
however, only if, after the expiration of the full two years, his conduct be considered, in the judgment
of the general membership, to be perfect alike in attendance at general assemblies, in study and in
frame of mind, and if he has not meanwhile committed any further act of inadvertence.
In other words, this two-year penalty is to apply only in the case of a single inadvertent error, whereas
if a man acts blatantly, he is nevermore to be readmitted. In sum, it is only the man who acts by
inadvertence that is to be placed on probation for two years to see whether, in the opinion of the
general membership, his conduct and frame of mind have meanwhile again become blameless. If so,
he may be reinstated in the body of the especially holy.
When these things obtain in Israel, as defined by these provisions, the Holy Spirit will indeed rest on a
sound foundation; truth will be evinced perpetually; the guilt of transgression and the perfidy of sin
will be shriven; and atonement will be made for the earth more effectively than by any flesh of burntofferings or fat of sacrifices.
The 'oblation of the lips' will be in all justice like the erstwhile 'pleasant savor' on the altar;
righteousness and integrity like that free-will offering which God deigns to accept At that time, the
men of the community will constitute a true and distinctive temple-a veritable holy of holies—wherein
the priesthood may fitly foregather, and a true and distinctive synagogue made up of laymen who walk
in integrity.
=======
Of The Authority Of The Priests (ix, 7)
---The priests alone are to have authority in all judicial and economic matters, and it is by their vote that
the ranks of the various members of the community are to be determined.
=======
Of The Property Of 'Presbyter? (ix, 8-11)
---The property of the 'specially holy men'—that is, of 'the men that walk blamelessly'—is not to be put
into a common pool with that of men who may still be addicted to deceit (‡‡) and may not yet have
achieved that purity of conduct which leads them to keep apart from perversity and to walk in
integrity.
Until the coming of the Prophet (§§) and of both the priestly and the lay Messiah, (71) these men are
not to depart from the clear intent of the Law to walk in any way in the stubbornness of their own
hearts.
They shall judge by the original laws in which the members of the community were schooled from the
beginning.
---[‡‡] Heb. simply, 'men of deceit'.
[§§] That is, the prophet foretold in Deut. 18:18, 'I will raise them up a prophet from among their
brethren, like unto thee [Moses]; and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them
all that I shall command him'. See Introduction, p. 6.
---=======
Of The Daily Conduct Of The Faithful (ix, 12-16)
---These are the ordinances for the conduct of any man that seeks after inner vision, in regard alike to
human relations, the regulation of affairs on specific occasions, and the balanced appraisal of his
fellow men, to the end that he may perform at all times the will of God which has been revealed as
pertinent to this or that occasion; that he may at all times accommodate theory to circumstance; and
that he may come to make the proper distinctions and evaluate the sons of Zadok (i.e., the priests) and
the elect of any particular epoch by the standard of their spiritual attitudes, and appraise them by that
criterion, thus conforming to the will of God, as He has commanded.
Everyone is to be judged by the standard of his spirituality. Intercourse with him is to be determined
by the purity of his deeds, (*) and consort with him by the degree of his intelligence. This alone is to
determine the degree to which a man is to be loved or hated.
---[*] Heb. 'hands (palms)'.
---=======
Of Religious Discussion (ix, 16-21)
---No one is to engage in discussion or disputation with men of ill repute; and in the company of froward
men everyone is to abstain from talk about (†) the meaning of the Law [Torah],
With those, however, that have chosen the right path everyone is indeed to discuss matters pertaining
to the ap-prehension (‡) of God's truth and of His righteous judgments. The purpose of such
discussions is to guide the minds of the members of the community, to give them insight into God's
inscrutable wonders and truth, and to bring them to walk blamelessly each with his neighbor in
harmony with all that has been revealed to them.
---[†] Heb. 'keep hidden'
[‡] Heb. 'knowledge'.
---For this is the time when 'the way is being prepared in the wilderness', and it behooves them to
understand all that is happening. It is also the time when they must needs keep apart from all other
men and not turn aside from the way through any form of perversity.
=======
Of Loving And Hating Fellowmen; And Of Duty To God (ix, 21-26)
---And these are the regulations of conduct for every man that would seek the inner vision in these times,
touching what he is to love and what he is to hate.
He is to bear unremitting hatred towards all men of ill repute, and to be minded to keep in seclusion
from them. He is to leave it to them to pursue ,wealth and mercenary gain, like servants at the mercy of
their masters or wretches truckling to a despot.
He is to be zealous to carry out every ordinance punctiliously, against the Day of Requital. (72)
In all his emprises and in all things over which he has control he is to act in a manner acceptable to
God, in accordance with what God has commanded.
He is to accept willingly whatever befalls him and to take pleasure in nothing but the will of God.
He is to make [all] the words of his mouth acceptable, and not to lust after anything that God has not
commanded.
He is to watch ever for the judgment of God, and [hi every vicissitude of his existence] he is to bless
his Maker. Whatever befalls, he is to [recount God's glory] and to bless him [with 'the oblation of] the
lips'.
The 'Zadokite' Document (*)
[I]
***
I [II]
Of God's Vengeance And Providence (i, 1-ii, 12)
Now listen, all right-minded men, and take note how God acts: He has a case against all flesh and
exacts satisfaction from all who spurn Him.
Whenever Israel broke faith and renounced Him, He hid His face both from it and from His sanctuary
and consigned them to the sword. But whenever He called to mind the covenant which He had made
with their forbears, He spared them a remnant and did not consign them to utter extinction.
So, in the Era of Anger, that era of the three hundred and ninety years, (1) when He delivered them
into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, He took care of them and brought to blossom alike
out of the priesthood and out of the laity that root which had been planted of old, allowing it once more
to possess the land and to grow fat in the richness of its soil. Then they realized their iniquity and knew
that they had been at fault.
For twenty years, however, they remained like blind men groping their way, (2) until at last God took
note of their deeds, how that they were seeking Him sincerely, and He raised up for them one who
would teach the Law correctly, (3) to guide them in the way of His heart and to demonstrate to future
ages what He does to a generation that incurs His anger, that is, to the congregation of those that betray
Hun and turn aside from His way.
---[*] From earlier copies found at Qumran it is now known that when this document was first published,
in 1910, from medieval copies discovered in the Cairo Genizah, the pages were arranged in the wrong
order. The correct sequence is here added in square brackets after the numeration of each major part.
Parts I, III and V of the original text are missing from the Cairo manuscripts, but are preserved in
fragments from Qumran. These, however, have not yet been fully published.
---The period in question was that whereof it is written, 'Like a stubborn heifer, Israel was stubborn'
[Hos. 4.16]. It was the time when a certain scoffer arose to distil upon Israel the waters deceptive (4)
and to lead them astray in a trackless waste, bringing low whatsoever had once been high, diverting
them from the proper paths and removing the landmarks which their forbears had set up, to the end
that through his efforts those curses cleaved to them which had been prescribed when the Covenant
was concluded, and they were delivered to the sword.
Thus was avenged that breach of the Covenant which they had committed in seeking smooth things
and in preferring delusion and in being constantly on the watch to breach the faith and in choosing to
walk proudly and in justifying the wicked and condemning the righteous, and in abrogating the
Covenant and annulling the pact, and in assailing the life of the righteous and abhorring all whose
conduct was blameless, and in pursuing them with the sword, and in raising a general clamor against
them. God then grew angry with their horde and utterly destroyed all their throng and treated all their
works as an abominable thing unclean.
=======
Of God's Judgment On The Wicked And His Clemency To The Righteous (ii, 2-13)
---And now, listen to me, all who have entered the Covenant, and I will open your ears to the fate which
attends the wicked.
God loves knowledge. Wisdom and sound sense has He posted before Him. Prudence and knowledge
minister to Him. (5) Patience attends on him and abundant forgiveness, so that He may shrive the
repentant But also with Him are might and power and great wrath, along with flames of fire and all the
angels of destruction (6)—appointed for them that turn aside from His way and treat His ordinance as
a thing to be shunned, to the end that they shall be left without remnant or survival.
Never, from the very beginning of the world, has God approved such men. He has always known what
their actions would be, even before the foundations of them were laid. He has anathematized whole
generations on account of bloodshed, hiding His face from the land. Their end has always been predetermined. He has always foreknown, how long they would endure and the exact and precise extent
of their continuance; yea, all that has happened in their several epochs throughout history, and likewise
all that was to befall them.
Nevertheless, in all of their generations He has ever raised up for Himself duly designated men, so that
He might provide survival for the earth and fill the face of the world with their seed. And to these has
He ever revealed His holy spirit at the hands of His anointed (7) and has ever disclosed the truth; and
He has clearly specified who they were. But those whom He hated He has always left to wander astray.
=======
Of Ancient Sinners (ii, 14—iii, 12)
---And now, children, listen to me, and I will open your eyes to see and understand how God acts, so that
you may choose what He has desired and reject what He has hated, walking blamelessly in all His
ways and not straying after thoughts of guilty lust or after whoring eyes. For many there be that have
strayed thereby from olden times until now, and even strong heroes have stumbled thereby.
Because they walked in the stubbornness of their hearts, the Watchers of heaven fell; (8) yea, they
were caught thereby because they kept not the commandments of God.
So too their sons, whose height was like the lofty cedars and whose bodies were as mountains. (9)
They also fell.
So too 'all flesh that was upon the dry land'. (10) They also perished. These became as though they had
never been, because they did their own pleasure and kept not the commandments of their Maker. In the
end His anger was kindled against them.
In the same way, too, the sons of Noah went astray, (11) and thereby they and their families were cut
off.
Abraham, however, did not walk in this way. Therefore, because he kept the commandments of God
and did not prefer the desires of his own spirit, he was accounted the Friend of God (12) and
transmitted this status in turn to Isaac and Jacob. They too kept the commandments, and they too were
recorded as Friends of God and as partners in His everlasting Covenant.
But the sons of Jacob strayed in that way and they were punished for their aberration.
Their sons, too, when they were in Egypt, walked in the stubbornness of their hearts, plotting against
the commandments of God and doing each what was right in his own eyes. Because they ate blood all
their males were cut off in the wilderness. God said to them at Kadesh: 'Go up and possess the land'
[Deut. 9.23], [but they followed the desire of] their own spirits and hearkened not to the voice of their
Maker neither to the orders of their leader, but kept murmuring in their tents. So the anger of God was
kindled against their horde. (13)
Their sons too perished by such conduct. Their kings were cut off through it, and their heroes perished
through it, and their land was laid waste through it.
Thus, whenever in ancient tunes those who had entered the Covenant became guilty on this account,
forsaking that Covenant of God, preferring their own pleasure and going astray after the stubbornness
of their hearts, doing each man as he pleased, they were invariably delivered to the sword.
=======
Of The Righteous Remnant (iii, 12-iv, 6)
---Howbeit, with the rest of them—that is, with those that held fast to His commandments—God ever
made good His everlasting Covenant with Israel, revealing to them the hidden things concerning which
Israel in general had gone astray—even His holy sabbaths and His glorious festivals, His righteous
ordinances, the ways of His truth and the purposes of His will, 'the which, if a man do, he shall live'
[Lev. 18.5].
He opened for them a well with water abounding, (14) which they might dig. But them that spurned
those waters He did not permit to live. And though they kept sullying themselves with human
transgression and with filthy ways, and kept saying, "Tis our own concern', yet did God with His
mysterious power shrive their iniquity and forgive their transgression and build for them in Israel a
firmly established House the like of which has not existed from ancient times until this day.
They that hold fast unto Him are destined for life eternal, and theirs is all mortal glory, even as God
has sworn unto them by the hand of the prophet Ezekiel, saying: The priests and the levites and the
sons of Zadok that kept the charge of My sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from Me,
these it is that shall offer unto Me the fat and the blood' [Ezek. 44.15].
By 'priests' is meant those in Israel that repented and departed from the land of Judah. [By 'levites'] is
meant those that associated themselves (15) with them. By 'sons of Zadok' is meant those elect of
Israel that have been designated by name and that shall go on functioning in the last days. Behold,
their names have been specified, the families into which they are to be born, the epochs in which they
are to function, the full tale of their tribulations, the length of their sojourn in exile, and the precise
nature of their deeds.
=======
Of The Reward Of The Faithful (iv, 6-12)
---These were the 'holy men' (16) of former times-the men whose sins God pardoned, who knew right for
right and wrong for wrong. But all who up to the present time have succeeded them in carrying out
explicitly the Law from which those ancients drew their lessons, them too will God forgive, in
accordance with the Covenant which He made with those ancients to forgive their iniquities.
And when the present era is completed, there will be no more express affiliation with the house of
Judah; every man will 'mount guard' for himself. The fence will be rebuilt, and the bounds be far-flung'
[cf. Mic. 7.11]. (17)
=======
Of the works of Belial (iv, 12-v, 17)
---Meanwhile, however, Belial will be rampant in Israel, even as God has said through the prophet Isaiah,
the son of Amoz: Terror and the pit and the trap shall be upon thee, O inhabitant of the land!' [Isa.
24.17]. The reference is to those three snares, viz. (a) whoredom, (b) lucre, and (c) desecration,
concerning which Levi the son of Jacob said (18) that by making them look like three kinds of
righteousness Belial ensnares Israel in them. He who escapes the one gets caught in the other, and he
who escapes the other gets caught in the third.
Such men may be described as 'builders of a rickety wall' [Ezek. 13.10], or as persons that have
'walked after filth' [Hos. 5.11]. The 'filth' in question is the babbling preacher of whom God said,
'Babble-babble shall they preach' [Mic. 2.6]; while the fact that two words [viz. 'pit' and 'trap'] are used
to describe the net in which they will be caught alludes to the whorish practice of taking two wives at
the same time, the true basis of nature being the pairing of one male with one female, even as it is said
(of Adam and Eve), 'A male and a female created He them' [Gen. 1.27], and of those that went into the
ark, 'In pairs they entered' [Gen. 7.9]. Similarly, too, it is said concerning a prince: 'He shall not take
more than one wife' [Deut 17.17]. (†) (19)
---[†] David, however, had never read the Book of Law, for it was sealed up in the ark and remained
unopened in Israel from the day when Eleazar and Joshua and the Elders were gathered to their rest.
The people worshiped Ashtoreth, while the ark remained hidden and unopened until indeed a Zadokite
entered into office [in the person of Hilkiah the priest]. Accordingly, David's actions were not
punished, save the spilling of the blood of Uriah, but God remitted the penalty for them.
This is part of the original text, but is here relegated to a footnote, as it would have been in a modern
work, in order not to interrupt the sequence of thought.
---Such persons commit [desecration] inasmuch as they lie with women in their periods and do not put
them aside, as enjoined in the Law. (20) Moreover, they marry the daughters of their brothers and
sisters, whereas Moses has said: 'Thou shalt not enter into intimate relations with the sister of thy
mother; she is thy mother's kin' [cf. Lev. 18.13]. (The laws of forbidden degrees are written, to be sure,
with reference to males, but they hold good equally for females. A niece, for instance, who indulges in
carnal intercourse with her paternal uncle is equally to be regarded as his kin.)
Furthermore, such men have desecrated the holy spirit within them, and with mocking tongue have
opened their mouths against the statutes of God's Covenant, declaring, 'They have no foundation'.
They have spoken disgracefully about them.
All such men may be described as persons that 'kindle a fire and set firebrands alight' [Isa. 50.11]. Of
them it may be said that 'their webs are spiders' webs and their eggs basilisks' eggs' [Isa. 59.5]. None
that have contact with them shall go unscathed; the more one does so, the more guilty he
becomes—unless, of course, he does so under compulsion.
Throughout antiquity, however, God has always taken note of the deeds of such men, and His anger
has always been kindled against their acts. Always, in fact, they have proved to be 'a witless folk' [Isa.
27.11], 'a nation void of sense' [Deut. 32.28] in that they lacked discernment.
=======
Of The Remnant (v, 17-vi, 11)
----
When, in antiquity, Israel was first delivered, Moses and Aaron still continued in their charge, through
the help of the Angel of Lights, (‡) even though Belial in his cunning had set up Jannes and his brother
in opposition to them. (21)
Similarly, at the time when the land was destroyed, men arose who removed the ancient landmarks and
led Israel astray; and it was, indeed, because they uttered sedition against the commandments of God
which He had given through Moses and through His holy anointed priest Aaron, and because they
gave forth false prophecies in order to subvert Israel from God, that the land was laid utterly waste.
Nevertheless, God still remembered the Covenant which He had made with their forbears and raised
from the priesthood men of discernment and from the laity men of wisdom, and He made them
hearken to Him. And these men 'dug the well'—that well whereof it is written, 'Princes digged it,
nobles of the people delved it, with the aid of a mehoqeq' [Num. 21.18]. The well' in question is the
Law.
They that 'digged' are those of Israel who repented and departed from the land of Judah to sojourn in
'the land of Damascus'. (§) God called them all 'princes' because they went in search of Him, and their
glory was never gainsaid (?) by any man's mouth. (22) The term mehoqeq [which can mean 'lawgiver'
as well as 'stave'] refers to the man who expounds the Law. Isaiah has employed an analogous piece of
imagery when in allusion to the Law he has spoken of God's 'producing a tool for His work' [cf. Isa.
54.16].
As for the 'nobles of the people', these are the men that come, throughout the Era of Wickedness, to
delve the well, using as their staves [Heb. me-hoq-eq] the statutes [Heb. huq-im] which the Lawgiver
prescribed [Heb. haqaq ha-mehoqeq] for them to walk in. Without such 'implements', they would,
indeed, never achieve their goal until such time as the true Expositor arises at the end of days.
---[‡] Heb Urim. See Manual of Discipline, iii.20.
[§] Scarcely to be taken literally. See above, pp. 5, 27.
---=======
Of The Obligation Of The Covenant (vi, 11-vii, 6a)
---All that enter the covenant with no intention of going into the sanctuary to keep the flame alive on the
altar do so in vain. They have as good as shut the door. Of them God has said: 'Who is there among
you that would shut the door, and who of you would not keep alive the flame upon Mine altar?'
In vain [Mal. 1.10] [are all their deeds] if, in an era of wickedness, they do not take heed to act in
accordance with the explicit injunctions of the Law;
to keep away from men of ill-repute; to hold themselves aloof from ill-gotten gain; not to defile
themselves by laying hands on that which has been vowed or devoted to God or on the property of the
sanctuary;
not to rob the poor of God's people; not to make widows their prey or murder the fatherless; to
distinguish between unclean and clean and to recognize holy from profane;
to keep the sabbath in its every detail, and the festivals and fasts in accordance with the practice laid
down originally by the men who entered the new covenant in 'the land of Damascus'; (23)
to pay their required dues in conformity with the detailed rules thereof;
to love each man his neighbor like himself; to grasp the hand of the poor, the needy and the stranger;
to seek each man the welfare of his fellow; to cheat not his own kin; to abstain from whoredom, as is
meet; to bring no charge against his neighbor except by due process, and not to nurse grudges from
day to day; to keep away from all unclean things, in accordance with what has been prescribed in each
case and with the distinctions which God Himself has drawn for them; not to sully any man the holy
spirit within him. (24)
Howbeit, for all that perform these rules in holiness unimpaired, according to all the instruction that
has been given them—for them will God's Covenant be made good, that they shall be preserved for a
thousand generations, even as it is written: 'He keepeth Covenant and loyalty with them that love Him
and keep His commandments, even unto a thousand generations' [Deut. 7.9].
=======
Of Family Life (vii, 6a-9)
---If members of the community happen to be living in encampments, (25) in accordance with a usage
which obtains in this country, and if they marry and beget children, (26) they are [in such matters] to
follow the precepts of the Law [Torah] and the disciplinary regulations therein prescribed for the
relationship of husband to wife and of father to child. (**)
---[**] Heb. even as God has said: 'Between a man and his wife and between a father and his son'—a
loose quotation from Num. 30.17.
----
=======
Of the future requital of the disobedient (vii, 9-viii, 21)
---All that reject these things shall be doomed to extinction when God visits the world to requite the
wicked—that is, when that ensues which is described by the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz in the
words: 'He will bring upon thee and upon thy kindred and upon thy father's house days the like of
which have not come since the time that Ephraim departed from Judah' [Isa. 7.17].
In other words, the same situation will then obtain as obtained at the time of the great schism between
the two houses of Israel, when Ephraim departed from Judah. At that time all who turned back were
delivered to the sword, whereas all who stood fast were vouchsafed escape to 'the land of the north'.
(27)
It is to this that allusion is also made in the statement: 'I will exile Sikkuth your Icing and Kiyyun your
image, the star of your God ... beyond Damascus' [cf. Amos 5.26].
The expression 'Sikkuth your king' refers to the Books of the Law, [for the word 'Sikkuth' is to be
explained from the like-sounding sukkah, 'tabernacle'] (††) as in the passage of Scripture which says: 'I
will raise up the fallen sukkah [tabernacle] of David' [Amos 9.11].
---[††] These words have here been inserted in order to bring out the word-play in the Hebrew original.
---The expression 'king' denotes the congregation; (28) and the expression 'Kiyyun your image' refers to
the books the prophets (29) whose words the House of Israel has spised. (30)
As for the 'star', that refers to every such interpreter of the Law as indeed repairs to 'Damascus', (31)
even as it is written: There shall step forth a star out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel'
[Num. 24.17]. (32) The 'sceptre', it may be added, is the leader of the community, for in the exercise of
his office he shall 'batter all the sons of pride', (33) as the Scripture says.
In the former visitation, these faithful men escaped, while those that turned back were delivered to the
sword. Such will be the fate also of those who in the latter days will have entered God's Covenant but
not held fast to these things. Them will God punish unto extinction by the hand of Belial.
The day on which God will carry out the punishment will be that to which the prophet alluded when he
said: The princes of Judah have become like them that remove landmarks; I will pour out My wrath
upon them like water' [Hos. 5.10]. They shall hope for healing, but the blem<ish> shall cl<i>ng to
them.
They are all of them apostates in that they have not turned from the way of the treacherous but have
sullied themselves with wantonness and with wicked lucre and with the nursing of grudges against
their fellows and with hatred of their neighbors. They have cheated their own kin and have had contact
with lewdness and have been overbearing by virtue of wealth and possession and have done every man
of them what was right in his own eyes, and have preferred the stubbornness of their own hearts, and
have not kept aloof from the rabble, but have behaved lawlessly and high handedly, walking in the
way of the wicked.
Concerning them has God said: Their wine shall pro the poison of serpents and the cruel venom of
asps' [Deut 32.33]. The 'wine' in question is their conduct; the 'se-pents' are the kings of the nations;
and the 'venom [Heb. ro'sh] of asps' is the chief [Heb. ro'sh] of the Grecian kings who will come to
wreak vengeance upon them.
Those that have been 'builders of the rickety wall' and 'daubers of veneer upon it' (34) have never
considered all this, because the man who walks in wind, who raises whirlwinds, who spouts lies—the
kind of man against all of whose ilk God's wrath has always been kindled—has kept spouting at them.
Howbeit, what Moses said of old, 'Not for thy righteousness nor for the uprightness of thy heart art
thou going in to possess these nations but because of His love wherewith He loved thy forefathers and
because He would keep the oath' [cf. Deut. 9.5], (35) applies equally to those in Israel who in those
latter days show repentance and eschew the way of the rabble. The same love which God showed to
the men of old who pledged themselves to follow Him will He show also to their successors. The
ancestral Covenant shall stand good for them.
But inasmuch as He hates and abominates all that 'build a rickety wall', His anger has been kindled
against them; and all who reject His commandments and forsake them and go on walking in the
stubbornness of their own hearts will be visited with such judgment as has been described. It is to this
that Jeremiah was referring when he spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah, (36) and Elisha when he spoke
to his servant Gehazi. (37)
All those that entered into the new covenant in 'the land of Damascus' but subsequently relapsed and
played false and turned away from the well of living waters shall not be reckoned as of the communion
of the people nor inscribed in the roster of it throughout the period from the time the teacher of the
community is gathered to his rest until that in which the lay and the priestly messiah [anointed] assume
their office. (38)
The same applies also to all that entered the company of the 'specially holy and blameless' (39) but
were loath to carry out the rules imposed upon the upright. Every such man is, as it were, like 'one
molten in the furnace' [Ezek. 22.22]. When his deeds come clearly to light, he shall be cast out of that
company as being one who has no share among the disciples of God.
Men of knowledge shall reprove him according to his perfidy until he repent and thereby resume his
place among the specially holy and blameless—that is, until it become clear that his actions are again
in accordance with the interpretation of the Law adopted by the specially holy and blameless.
Meanwhile, no man shall have commerce with him in matters either of property or of employment, for
he has been cursed by all the holy ones of God on high.
The same applies again—in the future as it did in the past—to all who commit their hearts to idolatry
and walk in the stubbornness of their hearts. All such have no portion in the household of the Law
[Torah].
The same applies, once again, to all of their fellows that relapse in the company of scoffers. These too
shall be judged; for they will have spoken error against the righteous ordinances and have rejected the
Covenant of God and the pledge which they swore in 'the land of Damascus' —that is, the new
covenant. (40) Neither they nor their families shall have a portion in the household of the Law [Torah].
About forty years will elapse from the death of the teacher of the community until all the men who
take up arms and relapse in the company of the Man of False-hood are brought to an end. (41) At that
time, the wrath of God will be kindled against Israel, and that will ensue which is described by the
prophet when he says: 'No king shall there be nor priest nor judge nor any that reproves aright' [cf.
Hos. 3.4].
But they of Jacob that have repented, that have kept the Covenant of God, shall then speak each to his
neighbor to bring him to righteousness, to direct his steps upon the way. And God will pay heed to
their words and hearken, and He will draw up a record of those that fear Him and esteem His name,
(42) to the end that salvation shall be revealed for all God-fearing men. Then ye shall again distinguish
the righteous from the wicked, him that serves God from him that serves Him not. And God will 'show
mercy unto thousands, unto them that love Him and keep His commandments'—yea, even unto a
thousand generations.
As for those schismatics (43) who, during the era when Israel was behaving perfidiously and defiling
the sanctuary, indeed departed from the Holy City, relying (solely) on God, but who subsequently,
without much [ad]o, (‡‡) reverted to the popular [tre]nd—all of those shall be subjected to judgment
by the sacred council, (44) each according to his character.
---[‡‡] Literally, with fe[w] words.
---Those too who indeed entered the Covenant but subsequently broke through the bounds of the
Law—all of those shall be 'cut off from the midst of the camp' at the time when God's glory is made
manifest to Israel. And along with them shall go those that sought to turn Judah to wickedness in the
days when it was being put to the test.
=======
Of The Future Reward Of The Faithful (B. xx, 27-34)
---Howbeit, all that hold fast to these enactments, going and coming in accordance with the Law; that
hearken to the voice of the Teacher; that make confession before God, saying: Just and truthful are Thy
judgments against us, for we have done wickedly, both we and our fathers, in that we have gone
contrary to the statutes of the Covenant; all who raise not their hands against His holy statutes or His
righteous judgments or His truthful ordinances;
all who learn the lessons of the former judgments wherewith the men of the community were adjudged
in time past; all who give ear to him who imparts the true interpretation of the Law and who do not
controvert the right ordinances when they hear them—all of these shall rejoice and their hearts shall be
strong, and they shall prevail over all that dwell in the world. And God will accept their atonement,
and because they took refuge in His holy name they shall indeed see salvation at His hand.
~~~~~~~
[III]
***
II [IV-cont.]
A. Code For Urban Communities
=======
Of laying capital charges (ix, 1)
---The law which says that no person under doom from men shall be bought off, but must be put to death
[cf. Lev. 27.29], is to be understood in the sense that any man who, as the result of a private vow, gets
a fellow human being doomed to death under the laws of the Gentiles is himself to be put to death.
(45)
=======
Of Grudges (ix, 2-8)
---And as to the law which says, Thou shalt not take vengeance nor bear any grudge against the children
of thy people' [Lev. 19.18]-if any of those that have entered the Covenant bring charges against his
neighbor without proving them by witnesses, or if he bring such charges merely through temper, or if
he tell tales to his superiors simply to bring his neighbor into contempt, he ranks as one who takes
vengeance and bears a grudge.
Scripture says of God Himself that it is only upon His adversaries that He takes vengeance, and only
against His enemies that He bears a grudge [Nah. 1.2]. Accordingly, if a man keep silent from day to
day and then bring a charge against his neighbor in the heat of anger, it is as if he were laying capital
charges against him, for he has not carried out the commandment of God Who said to him, Thou shalt
surely reprove thy neighbor lest thou incur sin on his account' [Lev. 19.17].
=======
Of Involuntary Oaths (ix, 8-10)
---Now regarding oaths. The principle that 'thou art not to take the law into thine own hands' (46) implies
that a man who compels another to take an oath in the open field and not in the presence of judges or
at their order has taken the law into his own hands.
=======
Of Lost Property (ix, 10-15)
---In the case of a loss, if it is not known who stole the particular article from the property of the camp in
which the theft occurs, the owner is to be required to make a solemn deposition on oath. Anyone who
hears it, knows the culprit and does not tell, is then to be considered culpable.
If a man makes restitution for expropriated property and brings the required guilt-offering, but there
are no claimants to that property, he is to make his confession to the priest, and everything except the
actual ram of the sin-offering is to go to the latter.
Lost property that is found but unclaimed is to be entrusted to the priests, because the man who
retrieved it may not know the law about it. If the owners cannot be discovered [at the time], the priests
are to take it into custody.
=======
Of Testimony (ix, 16-x, 3)
---In the case of offenses against the Torah, if a man sees such an offense committed but is alone at the
time, and if the matter be one of a capital nature, he is to disclose it to the overseer by bringing a
charge in the presence of the alleged culprit. The overseer is then to make a record of it.
If the man repeat the offense, this time also in the presence of one man only, and if the latter come in
turn and inform the overseer—in that case, i.e., if the offender do it again and be again caught by only
one person-the case against him is to be regarded as complete.
However, if there be two witnesses, and they concur in their statements, the culprit is to be excluded
from his customary degree of purity only if those witnesses are trust worthy and if they lay information
before the overseer on the very day when they saw the man [committing the offense].
In cases involving property, two trustworthy witnesses are required. (47) In those, however, that
involve [no question of restitution but simply of] exclusion from the degree of purity, one alone is
sufficient.
No man who has not yet completed his probationary period with the community and has not yet passed
the statutory examination as a truly God-fearing person (48) is to be permitted as a witness before its
judges in a capital case.
No man who has flagrantly transgressed the commandment is to be deemed a trustworthy witness
against his neighbor until he has succeeded in winning re-acceptance into the community.
=======
Of Judges (x, 4-10)
---This is the rule concerning the judges of the community.
Periodically, a complement of ten men shall be selected from the community. Four of them shall
belong to the tribe of Levi and Aaron, and six shall be laymen. (49) They shall be men versed in the
Book of Study (50) and in the fundamentals of the Covenant. Their minimum age shall be twenty-five,
and their maximum sixty. No man over sixty shall occupy judicial office in the community; for
through the perfidy of man the potential span of human life has been reduced, and in the heat of His
anger against the inhabitants of the earth, God decreed of old that their mental powers should recede
before they complete their days.
=======
Of ritual ablutions (x, 10-13)
---Now concerning purification by water. No one is to bathe in dirty water or in water which is too scant
to fill a pail (?). (51)
No man is to purify himself with water drawn in a vessel or in a rock-pool where there is insufficient
to fill a pail (?). If an unclean person come in contact with such water, he merely renders it unclean;
and the same is true of water drawn in a vessel.
=======
Of the Sabbath (x, 14-xi, 18)
---Now concerning the proper observance of the Sabbath.
No one is to do any work on Friday from the moment that the sun's disk stands distant from the gate by
the length of its own diameter; for this is what Scripture implies when it says explicitly, Observe the
Sabbath day to keep it holy. (52)
On the Sabbath day, no one is to indulge in ribald or empty talk. No one is to claim repayment of
debts. No one is to engage in lawsuits concerning property and gain. No one is to talk about labor or
work to be done the next day. No one is to go out into the field while it is still Sabbath with the
intention of resuming his work immediately the Sabbath ends. No one is to walk more than a thousand
cubits outside his city. (53)
No one is to eat on the Sabbath day anything that has not been prepared in advance. He is not to eat
anything that happens to be lying about in the field, neither is he to drink of anything that was not
[previously] in the camp. If, however, he is travelling, he may go down to bathe and may drink
wherever he happens to be.
No one is to commission a Gentile to transact business for him on the Sabbath day. No one is to wear
soiled clothes or clothes that have been put in storage unless they first be laundered and rubbed with
frankincense. No one is to observe a voluntary fast on the Sabbath. No one is to follow his beast to
pasture for a distance of more than two thousand cubits from his city. No one is to raise his hand to
strike it with his fist.
If the beast be stubborn, he is not to take it outdoors. No one is to take anything out of his house, or
bring anything in from outside. If he is [lodging] in a booth, he is likewise to take nothing out nor
bring anything in. No one is to break open a pitch-sealed vessel on the Sabbath. No one is to carry
ointments upon his person or walk around with them (§§) on the Sabbath.
---[§§] Literally, 'go or come'.
----
No one is to pick up rock or dust in a dwelling place. Nurses are not to carry babies around on the
Sabbath. No one is to put pressure on his male or female servant or on his hired help on the Sabbath.
No one is to foal a beast on the Sabbath day. Even if it drop its young into a cistern or a pit, he is not to
lift it out on the Sabbath.
No one is to stop for the Sabbath in a place near the heathen. No one is to desecrate the Sabbath for the
sake of wealth or gain.
If a human being falls into a place where there is water or fire, (54) one may bring him up by means of
a ladder or a rope or some other instrument
No one is to present any offering upon the altar on the Sabbath except the statutory Sabbath burntoffering—as the Scripture puts it, 'your Sabbath-offerings exclusively' [Lev. 23.38]. (55)
=======
Of The Defilement Of Holy Places (xi, 18-xii, 2)
---No one is to send to the altar either burnt-offering or meal-offering or frankincense or wood by the
hand of one suffering from any of the proscribed impurities, thus permitting him to render the altar
impure; for Scripture says, The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination, but the mere prayer of the
righteous is like an acceptable offering' [Prov. 15.8].
As for those who come to the house of worship, no one is to come in a state of uncleanness requiring
ablution. Such a man is either to anticipate the sounding of the trumpets of assembly or else to stay
behind, so that [the rest] will not have to stop the entire service.
[ ]; it is holy.
No one is to lie with a woman in the city of the sanctuary, thereby defiling the city of the sanctuary
with their impurity.
=======
Of Demoniacal Possession (xii, 2-6)
---Any man who is dominated by demonic spirits to the extent that he gives voice to apostasy is to be
subject to the judgment upon sorcerers and wizards.
If, however, a man desecrate the Sabbath or the festivals through (mental) aberration, he is not to be
put to death. In that case, it is the duty of men to keep him under observation.
If he recovers, they are to watch him for seven years, and only thereafter may he be readmitted to
public assemblies.
=======
Of Relations With The Heathen (xii, 6-11)
---No one is to put forth his hand to shed the blood of a heathen for the sake of wealth or gain. Moreover,
to prevent the levelling of defamatory charges, no one is to expropriate any of their goods except by
the decision of an Israelite court.
No one is to sell clean beasts or fowl to the heathen, lest they use them for sacrifices. No one is to sell
them any of the produce of his threshing-floor or winepress or any of his possessions. Nor is he to sell
to them any of his male or female servants that may have joined him in the Covenant of Abraham. (56)
=======
Of Food (xii, 11-15)
---No one is to defile his person by eating any unclean animal or reptile. This rule includes the larvae of
bees and any living entity that creeps in water.
Fish are not to be eaten unless they are ripped open while still alive and their blood poured out. (57)
As for the various kinds of locust, these are to be put in fire or water while they are still alive; for that
is what their nature demands.
=======
Of Contagious Impurity (xii, 15-18)
---When wood, stone or dust is contaminated by human uncleanness, the degree of the contamination is
to be determined by the rules governing that particular form of uncleanness; and it is by this standard
that all contact with them is to be gauged.
When a dead body lies in a house, every utensil—even a nail or a peg in the wall—is to be regarded as
defiled, just as much as implements of work.
=======
Epilogue (xii, 19-22)
---The foregoing is the rule concerning the various regulations for distinguishing clean from unclean and
for recognizing holy from profane, such as it is to obtain in the urban communities of Israel. It is by
these ordinances that the enlightened man may correctly determine his human relations on this or that
particular occasion; and it is in this manner that the progeny of Israel is to conduct itself in order to
avoid damnation. (58)
=======
B. Code For Camp-Communities
Prologue (xii, 22-xiii, 7)
---Here, however, is the rule for such camp-communities as may come into existence throughout the Era
of Wickedness—that is, until the priestly and the lay 'messiah' again assume office. (59) The people
who follow these rules must consist in any given instance of a minimum of ten, (60) and beyond that
must be grouped by thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.
In any place where there are ten, a priest versed in the Book of Study is not to be absent; 'by his word
shall they all be ruled' [Gen. 41.40]. If, however, he is not experienced in all these matters, the
members of the camp may elect by vote one of the levites, 'by whose orders they may come and go'.
(61) Nevertheless, whenever a decision has to
be rendered involving the law of bodily blemishes, the priest is to come and officiate in the camp, the
overseer instructing him in the detailed interpretation of the Law. Moreover, if the priest be feebleminded, that official must simply keep him under lock and key at all other times; or it is nonetheless
by the priests that the decision in such matters must be rendered. (62)
=======
Of The Overseer (63) (xiii, 7-19)
----
This is the rule for the overseer of the camp.
It is his duty to enlighten the masses about the works of God, and to make them understand His
wondrous powers. He is to tell them in detail the story of things that happened in the past. He is to
show them the same compassion as a father shows for his children. He is to bring back all of them that
stray, as does a shepherd his flock. (64) He is to loose all the bonds that constrain them, so that there
be no one in his community who is oppressed or crushed.
He is also to examine every new adherent to his community regarding his conduct, intelligence,
strength, valor and wealth, and to register him in his due status, according to his stake in the portion of
Truth. No member of the camp is to have authority to introduce anyone into the community in
defiance of the camp's overseer.
No one who has entered the Covenant is to have any traffic with the 'men of corruption' [i.e., outsiders]
except in spot cash transactions. No one is to enter into any sort of commercial partnership without
informing the camp's overseer. Moreover, if he has made an agreement, but does not. ... [Four
fragmentary lines.]
=======
Epilogue (xiii, 20-xiv, 2)
---Such, then, is to be the disposition of the camps throughout the Era of Wickedness. Those who do not
adhere to these things shall not succeed in reoccupying their native soil [ ]. These, in fact, are the
regulations for the social conduct of the 'enlightened' until God eventually visits the earth, even as He
has said: "There shall come upon thee and upon thy people and upon thy kinsfolk days the like of
which have not been since Ephraim departed from Judah' [Isa. 7.17]. With those that follow them
God's covenant will be confirmed; they will be delivered from all the snares of corruption. The foolish,
however, will [ ] and be punished.
=======
Of Rank And Precedence (xiv, 3-12)
---This is the rule for the disposition of all camp-settlements.
Everyone is to be registered by name in a census; first, the priests; second, the levites; third, the
laymen; and fourth, the proselytes. Each individual is to be registered by name, one after another; first,
the priests; second, the levites; third, the laymen; and fourth, the proselytes. It is in this order that they
are to be seated at public sessions, and in this order that their opinions are to be invited on all matters.
The priest who holds office over the masses is to be from thirty to sixty years old, versed in the Book
of Study and in all the regulations of the Torah, so as to be able to declare them on each appropriate
occasion.
As for the overseer of all the camps, he is to be from thirty to fifty years old, adept in human relations
and in all the varied languages of men. (65) It is as he determines that those who enter the community
are to be admitted each in his assigned order. Anything that any one has say in a matter of dispute or
litigation, he is to say to the overseer.
=======
Of The Communal Economy (xiv, 12-18)
---This is the rule for regulating public needs.
Their wages for at least two days per month are to be handed over to the overseer. The judges are then
to take thereof and give it away for the benefit of orphans. The are also to support therefrom the poor
and needy,
aged who are dying, the [ ] persons captured by foreign peoples, unprotected girls, unmarriageable
virgins, general communal officials [ ].
This, in specific form, is the way [ ] is to be disposed [ ] [com]munally.
=======
Of Personal Morality (xiv, 18-22)
---And these, in specific form, are the regulations which they are to follow throughout the Era of
Wickedness, until the priestly and lay 'messiahs' enter upon their office and expiate their iniquities.
No one is to practice conscious falsehood in matters of money [ ]; he is to be mulcted [of his rations]
for six days.
If a man utter [ ], [or harbor an] unjustified [grudge against bis neighbor, he is to be mulcted for one]
year [ ].
=======
III [IV, init.]
=======
Of Oaths (xv, 1-xvi, 20)
---No one is to take the oath by EL- (*) or by AD—, (†) but only by a formula of assent which invokes
the curses prescribed in the Covenant [cf. Lev. 26.14—45]. (66) Nor is he to make mention in this
connection of the Law of Moses, for (the name of God is spelled out in that Law); so that if he swears
by it and then transgresses, he commits profanation of the Holy Name; whereas if he swears before the
judges by the curses of the Covenant—then, if he transgresses, he becomes liable only for a guiltoffering, confession and restitution, but does not have to pay the penalty of death. (66a)
It is to be a perpetual ordinance for the whole of Israel that whoever enters into the Covenant is to
impose the oath of the Covenant also upon his sons when they reach the age for the preliminary
examination.
---[*] The initial letters of ELohim, the Hebrew word for 'God'.
[†] The initial letters of ADonai, the Hebrew word for 'Lord'.
---Similarly, it is to be the rule throughout the Epoch of Wickedness that anyone who repents his corrupt
conduct is to be enrolled, on the day when he speaks of it to the general overseer, with an oath binding
him to the Covenant which Moses made with Israel—that is, with a covenanted obligation that [in all]
the varied activities of his life he will return to the Law of Moses with all his heart and soul. No one,
however, is to acquaint him with the regulations of the community prior to his actually standing in the
presence of the overseer, lest, when the latter examines him, he turn out to be a dolt. But once the
overseer has sworn him by oath to return to the Law of Moses with all his heart and soul, he is to be
liable to punishment for any breach of faith. If he fail to understand anything in the Law which is
patently revealed to the normal mind, the overseer is to [ ] and then issue an order concerning him that
he be kept in confinement for a full year on the grounds of its having been ascertained that he is feebleminded and deranged.
In the case of one who is a chronic imbecile or is insane, the judge is to come and [ ]. Such a man is
not to appear in public. ... [The next two lines are fragmentary, and four more have been lost.]
There is an ancient text which says: 'It was by the Law of Moses that God made the covenant with you
and with all Israel'. (67) It is for this reason that the man [who enters the Covenant] must pledge
himself 'to return to the Law of Moses'. Therein is everything explicitly spelled out, while an exact
specification of the time when Israel will be blind to all these things is spelled out with equal exactness
in the Book of the Divisions of the Times into their Jubilees and Weeks. (68)
On the day that a man pledges himself to return to the Law of Moses, the Angel of Obstruction (69)
will start receding from him—that is, if he keep his word. It is in line with this that Abraham
underwent circumcision on the day that he attained true knowledge.
In all cases where a man pledges himself by a binding oath to perform any precept of the Law, he is
not to free himself therefrom even at the price of death. For this is what Scripture means when it says,
That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt observe', i.e., 'to make good' [Deut. 23.23]. On the other
hand, in all cases where a man pledges himself by a binding oath to depart from the Law, he is not to
confirm it even at the price of death.
Now, concerning a woman's oath. Scripture says that it is her husband's duty in certain cases to void
her oath [cf. Num. 30.14]. He is not to do so, however, if he does not know whether it is one that ought
to be made good or voided. If it involves transgression of the Covenant, he is to void it and not make it
good. The same rule applies also to her father.
Now, concerning the rules for free-will offerings. No one is to vow for the altar anything acquired by
violence; nor, indeed, are the priests to accept from a layman anything so acquired. No one is to offer
polluted food for sacred purposes. That is what Scripture means when it says, They trap each man his
neighbor in respect to the consecrated thing' [Mic. 7.2].... [Five fragmentary lines.]
The Letter Of The Law: Ordinances
***
Cp. Deut. 23.25-26
If any man thereof (1) construct a threshing floor or a wine press, anyone belonging to the community
of Israel (2) who comes upon it and himself has nothing (3) may feed himself from it and gather for
himself and [his] household]. Within the field he may eat to his satisfaction, (4) but he may not bring
anything home to deposit it (there). (5)
Cp. Exod. 30.11-16
Regarding the assessment of half a shekel which everyone is to furnish as coverage for his own person,
(6) (for this) there is to be a single [scale of value] throughout his life: (7) the shekel is to be estimated
as twenty gerahs, in accordance with the standard used for sacred purposes. (8) (Thus,) the 600,000
men (with Moses in the Wilderness) (9) would have had to pay (a total of) one hundred talents; (10)
each of the three (customary divisions of the armed forces), (11) half a talent; (12) and a contingent of
fifty men, (13) half a mina, i.e. 25 shekels ...
(There follows a specification of equivalencies, but the text is too fragmentary for translation.)
Ephah and bath are equivalent. (14)
. . . . . (15)
Cp. Lev. 25.42
They may not serve as slaves to Gentiles, (living) among foreigners, [for when the LORD brought
them out of the land of] He enjoined upon them the commandment that they should not be sold as a
slave is sold. [For the settlement of legal disputes there shall be a council of te]n laymen and two
priests, (16) and it is to these twelve that recourse must be had ... If, within (the community of) Israel,
a capital charge be preferred, these men's opinion must be sought.
Cp. Jos. 1.18
Anyone who offers defiance and takes the law into his own hands, (17) is to be put to death.
Cp. Deut. 22.5
A woman is not to put on the accoutrements of a man; and a man is not to clothe himself in the cloak
of a woman, nor wear a woman's shift; for that is an abomination. (18)
Cp. Deut. 22.14-21
If a man impugn the virtue (19) of an Israelite virgin, alleging that he married her [under false
pretenses], she shall be reliably examined, and if he has not lied about her, she shall be put to death.
But if (it be shown that) he has borne [false] witness against her, he shall be fined two minas, and he
may not20 divorce her for the rest of his life... (The rest is fragmentary)
=======
Our God and God of our fathers,
bless us with the threefold blessing in the Law,
written by the hand of Thy servant Moses,
spoken by the mouth of Aaron and his sons,
the priests, Thy holy people:
'The Lord bless thee, and keep thee;
The Lord make His face to shine upon thee
and be gracious unto thee;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee,
and give thee peace'.
Ancient Jewish Prayer; based on NUMBERS 6.24-26
A Formulary Of Blessings
=======
A. For blessing laymen
---Form of blessing (greeting) to be used by the
'enlightened' in blessing (greeting) those who
fear [God, do] His will, keep His commandments,
hold fast to His holy Covenant and
walk blamelessly [in all the ways of] His truth
—that is, such men as He has chosen to be
partners in an eternal Covenant [which shall]
stand for ever.
THE LORD BLESS THEE [from His holy habitation] and open for thee from heaven the perpetual
spring un[fail-ing]. (1)
[ ] in/at thy hand, and FAVOR THEE with all manner of blessing, and make thee [privy] to that
knowledge which is possessed by the Holy Beings. (2)
[Verily, with Him is] a perpetual spring, and He [withholds] not [living waters from] such as thirst (for
them). So mayest thou too [drink therefrom]. (3)
[THE LORD KEEP THEE from all evil and] deliver thee from all [domination by Belial], (4) and may
the frenzy thereof be (destroyed) without re[mnant].
[THE LORD KEEP THEE and deliver thee] from every satanic spirit (*) [and from every corrupting
spirit]. (5)
[There follow three broken lines, in two of which there is specific mention of 'holiness' (or of
something holy) and the third of which refers to 'holy teaching.'
This is followed in turn by three more broken lines, the first and last of which contain specific
reference to 'eternity' (or to something eternal), and the second of which alludes to 'all appointed
times'.]
---[*] Heb. 'satan', i.e., adversary.
---THE LORD KEEP [unto thee the covenant sworn to] thy fathers. (6)
[There follow five broken lines containing various elaborations of the formula, THE LORD LIFT UP
HIS COUNTENANCE UNTO THEE.]
THE LORD FAVOR THEE with [His salvation] [ ] and cause thee to delight in peace [abounding]. (7)
THE LORD FAVOR THEE also with [ ].
THE LORD FAVOR THEE with the holy spirit, with lovingkindness [ ].
THE LORD FAVOR THEE also with [His] eternal covenant and [ ] thee [ ].
THE LORD FAVOR THEE by visiting upon thee just judgment, [that] thy [foot may not] stumble
[upon thy way]. (8)
THE LORD FAVOR THEE also in all thy works [and in all that] thy [hand undertaketh] and in all the
[ ]. (9)
[THE LORD FAVOR THEE also with insight into] eternal truth.
[THE LORD GIVE PEACE unto thee and] unto all thine offspring [ ].
=======
B. For blessing the high priest
[Introductory words missing.]
THE LORD LIFT UP HIS COUNTENANCE UNTO THEE and [accept] the sweet savor of [thy
sacrifices] (10) and choose as His own all them that abide in [thy] priestly care, and take note of all thy
sacred acts (11) and be pleased with all thy seas[onal offices, (12) and increase] thy seed.
THE LORD LIFT UP HIS COUNTENANCE unto all thy congregation.
THE LORD LIFT UP upon thy head [a crown of honor], (13) and may thy [ ] [abide] in glory
[eternal], and may He hallow thy seed with glory everlasting.
THE LORD LIFT UP [HIS COUNTENANCE UNTO THEE] and grant thee grace [and peace
everlast]ing, and [an inheritance in] the kingdom of [heaven]. (14)
[THE LORD LIFT UP thy soul and raise thy spirit] out of the flesh (15) and [set it] amid the holy
angels. (16)
[THE LORD LIFT UP His banner (17) and] do battle for thee [at the head of] thy thousands [against
this] iniquitous generation.
[Three fragmentary lines.]
[THE LORD LIFT UP His sword for thee] (18) to humble many peoples before thee [ ], and mayest
thou not [rely] upon worldly wealth, to become estranged from the perpetual spring, [but find it when]
thou seekest it
Verily, God stayeth the foundations of the earth. [So may He stay thy steps.]
[Verily, He stablisheth the world upon its basis. So] may He stablish thy wellbeing (19) for ever.
=======
C. For blessing the priests
Formula of blessing to be used by the 'enlightened' in blessing the sons of Zadok—that is, the priests
whom God has chosen to keep His covenant firm for ever, to act as the testers of all matters involving
the performance of His rules among His people and to teach them according to that which He hath
commanded, to the end that they may confirm His covenant in truth and supervise correctly [the
performance] of all His ordinances and walk in the way which He hath chosen:
THE LORD BLESS THEE from His holy habitation and set thee crowned in majesty (20) in the midst
of the Holy Beings, and renew unto thee the covenant of priesthood everlasting, and give thee place in
the holy habitation. (21)
By thine offices may all princes be judged, and all the [lords] of the peoples by thine unstained lips.
May He give thee as thine inheritance the first-fruits of all delights, (22) and at thy hand may He bless
all mortal designs.
May He be pleased with [all] the steps of thy feet, and make thee acceptable in the eyes of men and of
the Holy Beings.
May He apportion unto thee (23) [ ] and mayest thou immerse thyself therein. And all mortal [ ] and
delights [ ].
May He set eternal blessings as a crown upon thy head, and fill thine hands with holiness and [ ].
[Line missing.]
May He cause thee to do rightly in all thy ministrations. For thee hath He chosen [to perform the
office] and to carry out the charge at the head of them that be sacred, and to give His blessing unto thy
people, and thee [hath He appointed] that the men of the company of God may be [rendered pure?] at
thy hand and not at the hand of any monarch or [potentate; and with thee He speaketh] as a man unto
his neighbor; and thou art as a ministering angel in the holy habitation.
[Mayest thou serve ever] unto the glory of the God of Hosts, and mayest thou be about Him as one that
ministereth in a royal palace. And mayest thou share the lot of the ministering angels (†) and be one in
the company of [the Holy Beings] for all time and for all the epochs of eternity. [For He hath entrusted
thee with] His judgments, and hath made thee an holy thing among His people, to be as a light [ ] to
[illumine] the world with knowledge and to enlighten the faces of men far and wide.
---[†] Heb. 'angel(s) of the Presence'.
---May He set upon thine head a diadem to proclaim thee holy of holies, (24) for [it is thou that evincest
His] holiness and showest forth the glory of His name.
And may His Holy Beings [wait upon thee].
=======
D. For blessing the king
[Introductory 'words missing.]
Thou hast been set apart from [all other men] [ ] them that see thee [ ].
May He renew unto thee [ ].
[Line missing.]
[ ] who hath commissioned thee [ ] for all time and for all the seasons of eternity. And may He not
gi[ve] thy glory [unto another].
May God [set] the fear of thee upon all that hear tell of thee, and be thy majesty [upon all that] [ ].
=======
E. For blessing the prefect of the community (24a)
Formula of blessing to be used by the 'enlightened' in blessing (greeting) the prefect of the
community—that is, the man whom God hath chosen to represent His power and through whom He
renews the covenant contracted with the community, to the end that He may maintain the sovereignty
of His people for ever, and [whom He has appointed to judge the needy in righteousness] and to
reprove in equi[ty the me]ek of the earth, (25) and to walk blamelessly in all the ways of [His truth],
and to confirm His holy covenant when distress befalls them that seek Him:
THE LORD LIFT thee up unto the summit of the world, like a strong tower on a lofty wall. (26)
Mayest thou [smite nations] with the vehemence of thy mouth. With thy rod mayest thou dry up the
[fountain-heads] of the earth, and with the breath of thy lips mayest thou slay the wicked. (27)
[THE LORD FAVOR THEE with a spirit of sound counsel] and with perpetual strength and with a
spirit of knowledge and with the fear of God. (28)
May righteousness be the girding [of thy loins and faithfulness] that of thy thighs. (29)
May God make thy horns of iron and thy hoofs of brass; (30) and mayest thou gore the [iniquitous]
like a steer [and trample nations] like mire in the streets. (31)
For God hath appointed thee to be the scourge of rulers. (32) They shall [come] before thee [and make
obeisance unto thee, and all peoples] shall serve thee. By His holy Name may He give thee power that
thou be as a lion [which raveneth and as a wolf which smi]teth the prey with none to retrieve it And
may thy chargers ride abroad (33) over [all the broad places of the earth].
Notes (*)
The Manual of Discipline
---1. Jer. 3.17.
2. Cp. Num. 15.39; Ezek. 6.9.
3. Luke 16.8; John 12.36; Eph. 5.8. Cp. also Luke 1.79; Rom. 2.19.
4. So too among the Essenes: Josephus, War, II, viii, 3; Philo, quoted by Eusebius, Praep. Ev., viii, 11;
Porphyry, On Abstention from Animal Food, p. 381 (ed. Leyden, 1620). Likewise among the early
Christians: Lucian, De morte Peregrini, c.13.
5. Variant calculations of the calendar were a regular bone of contention among normative Jews and
dissident sects, as also between Jews and Samaritans.
6. The word 'truth' is often used in the Scrolls in the specific sense of the Mosaic Law (Torah). So, too,
the Samaritans commonly refer to it as 'the Verity' (Qushta).
7. Cp. Mishnah, Berachoth, V, 4.
8. Cp. Jubilees, 1.20; Testament of Reuben, ii; of Levi, iii; of Zebulun, ix; of Naphtali, ii; of Benjamin,
vi. Cp. also Didache, xxi.3.
9. 'Amen' (or 'Amen, amen') was the standard response to an oath: Num. 5.22; Deut. 27, passim;
Mishnah, Shebu'oth, V, 2.
10. Ps. 106.6. This is the regular formula of confession on the Day of Atonement.
---[*] The Dead Sea Scriptures are cited according to the columns and lines of the original texts. Old
Testament references follow the numeration of the Hebrew text, which sometimes differs by a verse or
two from the English version. Where the discrepancy is likely to be troublesome, the English
numbering is indicated in parentheses.
---11. Cp. the development of this idea in Eph. 1.11; Rom. 8.17; Gal. 3.29, etc., and cp. G. Dalman, The
Word's of Jesus (1902), pp. 125ff.
12. An expansion of the Priestly Benediction, Num. 6.22-27.
13. Cp. Mat. 18.9; Mark 9.43; Dalman, Words, p. 161.
14. The Hebrew is obscure, and various interpretations have been proposed.
15. By a scribal error, the word for 'every one that hath come' has been transferred in the original text
to follow 'enter' rather than 'cursed be'.
16. Ezek. 7.19; 14.3, 7.
17. Deut. 29.19. The same passage is quoted in the same sense in the Syriac Teachings of the Apostles,
ii, 23.
18. The Heb. term gillulim, commonly rendered 'idols', was understood by early Jewish commentators
on the Bible to mean 'filthiness'. Our author evidently had the same tradition.
19. This was the regular order of precedence among Jews; cp. Mishnah, Horayoth, III, 8.
20. The Brotherhood regarded itself as part of the ideal, sempiternal congregation of God—the Church
Invisible.
21. Cp. II Cor. 5.1.
22. This is one of the most puzzling phrases in the entire document, and the translation is therefore
uncertain. The Hebrew says: 'in the se'on of wickedness is his plowing'. The word se'on occurs only in
Isa. 9.4(5), where it means 'sandal, boot'—a meaning which does not fit here. The medieval Jewish
commentators, however, tended to equate it with the like-sounding Aramaic seyan, 'mud', and it is in
this sense, I suggest, that our author likewise understood it. Furthermore, the notion of 'plowing
wickedness' was clearly influenced by the occurrence of a similar expression in Hos. 10.13.
23. Cp. Mat 3.11; Mark 1.8; Luke 3.16; John 1.33; Acts I.5, etc.
24. The Hebrew word is that rendered 'teachers' in Dan.
II.33, 35; 12.3, 10. The Formulary of Blessings bears the same heading. Both texts were probably
designed as 'assists' for the teachers of the Brotherhood, this one being a kind of sermon—possibly
delivered as an exposition of the Scriptural Lesson, Deut. 30.15ff.: 'See, I have set before thee this day
life and good, and death and evil', etc.
25. Cp. I Sam. 2.3.
26. Cp. Didache; Testament of Levi, 5.30; Mat. 7.13f.; Barnabas, xiv.3ff. The same doctrine occurs in
the pseudepigraphic Testament of Asher, 1.3-9, and in the Testament of Judah, 20.1. It developed into
the Jewish concept of the yeser tob (good inclination) and yeser ra' (evil inclination) in every man. On
the background of the concept, see A. Dupont-Sommer, The Jewish Sect of Qumran and the Essenes
(1954), pp. 118-30. Cp. also Slavonic Enoch, 30.13f.
27. Mentioned again in the 'Zadokite' Document, v.18. Possibly, this is the real meaning of II Cor.
11.14, 'Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light', i.e., Satan disguises himself as the Angel of
Light and then misleads.
28. In Testament of Levi, xix and in Testament of Joseph, vii, xx, Belial is called 'the spirit of
darkness'.
29. The term used in the Hebrew (viz. mastemah) is related to the word 'Satan'. It is personified in
Jubilees 11.5; 17.16; 18.9.
30. The angel in question is probably Gabriel, for not only is Gabriel the revealer of God's truth—he
revealed the basic Koran to Mohammed—but he is also the champion of the faithful in the final battle
against the powers of darkness; cp. War of the Sons of Light, etc.
31. Josephus (War, II, viii, 7) says that the Essenes were sworn not to divulge their doctrines to
outsiders.
32. The text reads: 'These are the foundations of the spirit for the children of the truth of the world'. It
is obvious that the scribe has erroneously altered the true order of the words; see above, n. 15.
33. Cp. I Peter 5.4. The Mandaeans attach great importance to the 'lustrous crown' (Kelila de-ziva).
34. Cp. Rev. 6.11; 7.9. 'All God's chillun got robes'.
35. Cp. the lists of vices in Gal. 5.19ff.; Rom. 1.29ff.; I Cor. 6.9ff.; Col. 3.5, 8. Rendel Harris
(Teaching of the Apostles [1887], pp. 82ff.) derives these lists from the catalogue of sins recited in the
confessions on the Day of Atonement Others claim that they were borrowed from the Stoics, and cite
similar texts in A. Die-terich, Nekyia, pp. 163ff.
36. Cp. Jer. Talmud, Sheb., vi. 37a. Cp. also Slavonic Enoch, 53.3; 56.1.
37. Cp. Isa. 44.3; Joel 2.28-29; Acts 2.17; 10.45; Titus 3.5-6.
38. This idea was common in the Graeco-Roman world; see F. Cumont, After Life in Roman
Paganism (1923), p. 121.
39. Cp. John 12.43.
40. Cp. Isa. 65.17, and especially Mat. 19.28. Cp. also Dalman, Words, pp. 177ff; Cumont, op. cit., p.
13.
41. See General Introduction, p. 5.
42. Evidently, non-Jewish proselytes are meant.
43. Josephus tells us (War, II, viii, 6) that the Essenes avoided taking oaths. The only exception was
the oath of allegiance on being admitted to the Brotherhood. Jesus counselled his disciples in the same
sense (Mat 5.33-37). It is interesting to observe that this rule obtained also among the Waldenses.
44. I.e., the curses prescribed in Deut. 28-29, known in Jewish tradition as 'the Commination' (Heb.
tochechah). When the passage is read in the Synagogue, it is customary among the Ashkenazim
(German-Polish Jews) to 'call to the Law' the humblest member of the congregation—usually, the
beadle or sexton. The Sephardim (Spanish-Portuguese Jews), however, insist that the rabbi (haham)
must be 'called', to show that the Law is no respecter of persons!
45. This is not a protest against baptism, as has been supposed, but rather against the idea that the act
of immersion can by itself absolve sins.
46. The Scriptural text refers specifically to falsehood.
47. The Scriptural text was evidently taken to mean 'whose spirit lies only in his breath', i.e., not in his
'soul'.
48. Philo (Quod Omnis Probus Liber, §13) commends the Essenes for their 'cheerfulness of temper'.
So, too, Josephus (War, II, viii, 6) says that 'they are just dispensers of their anger, curbers of their
passions ... ministers of peace'.
49. The text says, 'the small is to obey the great'; but this evidently refers to rank, not age. However,
Philo says of the Essenes that in synagogue the younger sat below the elder (Quod Omnis Probus
Liber, §12).
50. So too among the Essenes: Philo, loc. cit.; Josephus, War, II, viii, 5.
51. Ten persons is the minimum required in Jewish law to form a congregation. So too, apparently,
among the Essenes: Josephus, War, II, viii, 9.
52. So too among the Essenes: Josephus, War, II, viii, 5. In early Christian usage, the first act at an
agape (love-feast) was to bless the cup. The duty devolved on the bishop, if present; see Dom Conolly,
Didascalia Apostolorum (1929), pp. lii,ff.
53. I.e., in order to expound it to them; cp. I Cor. 14.28. The Didascalia Apostolorum prescribes that
the bishop is to be the 'interpreter'.
54. For the conjunction of 'studying' and worshiping' (lit blessing'), cp. Mishnah, Yoma, VII, 7.
55. Josephus (War, II, viii, 5) says of the Essenes that 'no noise or uproar ever desecrates their house.
Rather do they let everyone take part in the conversation in turn'.
56. Josephus (War, II, viii, 9) says of the Essenes that 'when ten of them [i.e., the minimal quorum] sit
together, no one will speak if the other nine do not agree to it'.
57. The Hebrew word is the exact equivalent of the Greek episkopos, 'bishop'. We thus see the original
form of this office, which later assumed sacerdotal functions. Comparable also is the 'steward' or
'overseer' of the Essenes, mentioned by Philo (hi Eusebius, Praep. Ev., viii, 11) and Josephus (War, II,
viii, 3).
58. Josephus (War, II, viii, 10) mentions four categories among the Essenes, and tells us also (ib., 7),
that a postulant was not admitted to 'the holier water of purification' until after a year's probation. The
'com-mon or general purity' (literally, 'the purity of the many') was evidently the lowest degree. The
system was a special development of the four degrees of purity recognized in Jewish law and specified
in the Babylonian Talmud, Hagigah 18b.
59. So too among the Essenes, according to Josephus (loc cit.).
60. The Didascalia (54.26) likewise excludes Initiants from the common meal. So too among the
Essenes (Josephus, loc. cit.).
61. Josephus (loc. cit.) says that those who wished to join the Essenes had to spend a trial year 'outside'
and two full years (in varied degrees of probation) 'inside' before they were eligible for admission.
There is no real discrepancy between his statement and our author's, for the latter starts, as it were,
from the moment the postulant has entered 'within'.
62. Deut. 28.58. Cp. James 2.7.
63. For the terms employed in the Hebrew, cp. Mishnah, Yoma, VII, 7. For the office involved, cp.
Mishnah, Berachoth, V, 5; Rosh Ha-Shanah, IV, 9.
64. The point is that the left hand is used in the Near East for all unclean purposes.
65. According to Josephus (War, II, viii, 8), expulsion was the penalty among the Essenes for heinous
offenses.
66. In imitation of the priestly triumvirate of Aaron, Eleazar and Ithamar during Israel's sojourn in the
wilderness; cp. Num. 3.4.
67. Cp. Isa. 65.9; Ps. 105.43; II John 1; I Peter 2.9; Rev. 17.14, etc. The Mandaeans likewise call
themselves the elect' (Lidzbarski, Mandaische Liturgien, pp. 75, 106f.; id., Johannesbuch, ii, pp. 69,
102, 221). So too the Manichaeans styled themselves (vicidagan).
68. Quoted in the same sense in I Peter 2.6.
69. Philo tells us (Quod Omnis Probus Liber, §12) that when the Scriptures were read publicly among
the Essenes, on the sabbath, the 'expert' who expounded them 'passed over that which is not generally
known, i.e., within the grasp of the rank and file.
70. The same quotation is used in the same sense by John the Baptist; Mat. 3.3; John 1.23.
71. Literally, 'the Messiahs (i.e., anointed) of Aaron and Israel'. See above, p. 6.
72. The expression derives from Deut. 32.35, according to the text found in the Samaritan Recension,
the Greek (Septuagint) Version, and a fragment discovered at Qumran itself. It recurs at Isa. 34.8, 61.2,
and 63.4, and is the standard term for Doomsday among the Samaritans.
=======
The 'Zadokite' Document
---1. Based on Ezek. 4.5, 'For I have appointed the years of their iniquity to be unto thee a number of
days, even three hundred and ninety days'. It is perhaps worthy of note that in the 'Chain of High
Priests' supplied by the Samaritans to Rev. John Mills and published by him in his The Modern
Samaritans (1864), pp. 333f., 'the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar' is said to have lasted 390 years, viz.
from 3488 until 3877 A.M. This must represent an independent tradition, for the Samaritans do not
accept any Scripture other than the Five Books of Moses.
2. As Isaac Rabinowitz has pointed out (Journal of Biblical Literature, 73 [1954], 11), the reference is
to the events narrated in Neh. l.lff., 'Now it came to pass in the twentieth year [of the reign of King
Artaxerxes Longimanus]'. I should prefer, however, to see in the 'right-teacher' Ezra rather than
Nehemiah. First, as explained in the Introduction, it seems to me that the 'right-teacher' was in all
epochs necessarily a priest— and that Ezra was. Second, it was indeed Ezra who expounded the Law
(Neh. 8.2ff.).
3. Here we have the term usually rendered Teacher of Righteousness'.
4. The reference is obscure. Possibly it is to Sanballat (Neh. 4.Iff.), though it is not recorded that he
and his followers were annihilated. However, our text may be a general polemic against the
Samaritans.
5. An ancient Jewish morning-prayer, ascribed by some to the Essenes, speaks of 'Knowledge and
Discernment' as encompassing God like attendants.
6. Common figures of rabbinic lore; cf. also Enoch 56.1.
7. I.e., the anointed priests, custodians and teachers of the Law, which is here called 'the Truth', as
regularly among the Samaritans and Mandaeans.
8. The reference is to the widespread post-Biblical legend of the rebel angels (headed by 'Lucifer') who
were cast out of heaven. The legend is fully discussed in B. Bamberger's excellent work, Fallen Angels
(New York, 1954). The name 'Watchers' is taken from Dan. 4.13, 17, 23.
9. The allusion is to Gen. 6.1—4. The Hebrew word usually rendered 'mighty men' was interpreted in
antiquity as 'giants'.
10. The reference is to the generation of the Flood. Compare especially Gen. 6.17.
11. Gen. 9.20-28.
12. Note that the same example is cited, with the same point, in James 2.23.
13. Ps. 106. 18.
14. Cp. Jer. 2.13; 17.13; Odes of Solomon, 6.7; 30.1-2.
15. The point depends on a play on words: the Hebrew for 'associate oneself' is l-v-h, which at once
suggests Levi.
16. I.e., the prototypes of the 'men of special holiness' mentioned in the Manual.
17. The Hebrew word for 'boundary' also means 'statute', and is used especially of the statutes, or
provisions, of the Covenant.
18. The source of this quotation is unknown. It does not occur in the pseudepigraphical Testament of
Levi, as one might expect.
19. RV. 'Neither shall he multiply wives unto himself.
20. Lev. 15.19.
21. Cp. II Tim. 3.8. For the legend in Jewish sources, cp. L. Ginzberg, The Legends of the Jews, vi,
144.
22. The Hebrew word for prince is sar. The point obviously depends upon some fanciful interpretation
of this term, that now eludes us. Possibly it was connected on the one hand with the word shur, 'to look
around for something', and on the other with a root appearing in the Assyro-Babylonian sharu, 'to
belie, traduce'.
23. This passage has been taken to indicate that the Covenanters later betook themselves to Damascus,
and it has been assumed that our present document emanates from that settlement. I agree entirely,
however, with the view of I. Rabinowitz (Journal of Biblical Literature, 73 [1954], 11-35) that the
language is purely figurative, being based on Amos 5.27. See above, p. 5.
24. See Manual, vols, iii-iv.
25. Josephus tells us clearly that not all of the Essenes lived in the desert (War, II, viii, 4), and the
present document subsequently lays down rules for urban communities and for 'camps' respectively.
Obviously, then, this literature did not emanate from, nor was it exclusive to, the particular group at
Qumran.
26. Josephus tells us that while some Essenic groups discountenanced marriage, others did not (War,
II, viii, 13). The Qumran group apparently fell in the latter category, for skeletons of women have been
disinterred from its cemetery.
27. Comp. Zech. 6.8.
28. The text is defective, and it is therefore not quite clear how the author actually interpreted the
Scriptural passage. C. Rabin makes the attractive suggestion that we should read: 'The King is the
[prince of all the congregation; the image(s) are the instructors of the] congregation'. The point, he
says, depends on a play on words, whereby the Hebrew selem, 'image' is fancifully interpreted (by
metathesis) as melis, 'interpreter'. An alternative suggestion is, however, that the author was playing on
the words of Deut. 33.4-5, 'Moses commanded us a law as an inheritance, O congregation of Jacob.
And there was a King in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people were gathered, all the tribes of Israel
together'.
29. Possibly, the writer was fancifully interpreting the word Kiyyun (really the name of the planet
Saturn) as containing the initial letters of the Hebrew expression, Kitbe Nebi'im, writings of the
prophets'. An exactly parallel mode of interpretation appears in the Commentary on Habakkuk, xiii, 2
(on 2.20).
30. The writer is playing on the words of Ps. 73.20, Their image wilt Thou despise'.
31. See above, n. 23.
32. The pseudepigraphic Testaments of Levi (18.3) and Judah (24.1) likewise refer this to the Messiah.
Rev. 22.16 refers it to Jesus.
33. The writer interprets the Hebrew word sheth of the Biblical quotation—really, the name of a
nomadic people called the Shutu—as equivalent to se'eth, 'pride'. The same interpretation obtains
among the Samaritans. Jeremiah (48.45) took the words somewhat similarly.
34. Ezek. 13.10.
35. The writer manipulates the Biblical text to suit his purpose and does not quote it accurately.
36. Cp. Jer. 45.1, 4-5: The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke unto Baruch, the son of Neriah ... 'that
which I have built will I break down, and that which I have planted will I pluck up; the same is the
whole land ... for, behold, I will bring evil on all flesh'.
37. Cp. II Kings 5.26-27, where Elisha curses Gehazi for disobedience.
38. The reference is to the future (prophetic) teacher who will precede the eventual restoration of the
priesthood and sovereignty; see above, p. 6.
39. See Manual, viii, 1-19.
40. This is not a 'New Testament' in the Christian sense. It refers simply to the future reaffirmation of
the old covenant. See above, pp. 4ff.
41. Rabbinic tradition likewise assigns a period of forty years for the 'ministry' of the Messiah before
the final restoration of Israel. The identity of the Man of Falsehood is unknown, and this is one of the
major points of controversy among students of the Scrolls. I believe, however, that the reference is
purely general, and refers to 'Belial' or 'Antichrist'—a regular figure of Jewish (and later of Christian)
eschatology from about the second century B.C. onwards.
42. This idea recurs in the Book of Hymns, xvi, 10. Cp. also Odes of Solomon, 9.12.
43. Heb. 'the house of Peleg' (cf. Gen. 10.25)-a fanciful designation based on the fact that the Hebrew
word p-l-g means 'divide'. The reference is to men who originally withdrew from the faithless rabble,
but later weak-heartedly rejoined it.
44. See Manual, vi, 8-13.
45. The interpretation of these lines is much disputed, and the translation here given must be
considered only as tentative. For another view, see C. Rabin, The Zadokite Documents (1954), p. 54,
n. 8.
46. Not in the Bible.
47. Cf. Mishnah, Makkoth, 1.7.
48. This may also mean: no man who has not yet reached the age when he is eligible for enrollment in
the Brotherhood, i.e., no one under twenty; cp. xv, 6.
49. Cf. Mishnah, Sanhedrin, 1.3, which implies a court of ten.
50. Heb. 'Book of Hagu', which has been the subject of considerable speculation. The fact is, however,
that the word hagu actually occurs in the Hymns (xi, 2, 21) in the sense of 'meditation', and the cognate
word denotes 'study' in late Hebrew. There is thus no difficulty about the term.
51. The meaning is uncertain. The Hebrew word is mar'il, which is probably the Talmudic mir'al,
'pannier'.
52. I.e., the emphasis is on the word 'day', which was reckoned from sunset to sunset. The moment
indicated would thus imply the imminence of the sabbath day, Friday's sun being now about to set.
53. For the regular Jewish rule (2000 cubits), see Mishnah, Sotah, V.3.
54. The text seems to say: 'If a human being falls into a place of water or into a place of ... let no man
bring him up by a ladder or a rope or by any other implement'. But this would be against the universal
Jewish rule that sabbath laws may be broken in cases of life and death. Hence some scholars have
assumed that a word has dropped out by haplography and read: 'If a human being fall ... whence he
cannot come up, one is to bring him up by means of a ladder', etc. But this involves bad grammar. I
therefore adopt Vermes' ingenious emendation of esh ('fire') for the obscure al of the manuscript.
55. The Scripture says, 'apart from your Sabbath offering'; but our author took the word rendered 'apart
from' as an adverb meaning 'exclusively'.
56. I.e., accepted Judaism. Cp. Bab. Talmud, Yebamot, 48b. The expression is a trifle odd, because it
refers properly to circumcision.
57. Ritual slaughtering of fish is discussed in Bab. Talmud, Hullin, 27b.
58. I.e., in order to avoid the curses specified in Deut. 9 28-29.
59. See Introduction, pp. 6, 29.
60. See Manual of Discipline, note 51.
61. Num. 27.21. The Didache likewise provides for a junior substitute, if the bishop is incapacitated or
incompetent.
62. Lev. 13.2ff. Cp. Mishnah, Nega'im, III, 1.
63. Cp. Manual of Discipline, note 57.
64. So too in the Apostolic Constitutions, ii, 6, 7, in de- fining the duties of a bishop ('pastor').
65. Literally, 'In all communion with men and in every language according to their several families'.
This scarcely means that he is to be a polyglot, but simply —as we should say—that he is to be adept
at 'talking the other fellow's language'.
66. Swearing by AD ... and by YH (the initial letters of YHVH, the Ineffable Name of God) is
mentioned in Mishnah, Shebu'oth, IV, 13.
66a. Blasphemy was punishable by death: Lev. 24.10-23. Cp. Mishnah, Sanhedrin, VII, 5.
67. The quotation is not from the Bible.
68. I.e., the Book of Jubilees.
69. Heb. Mastemah, mentioned again in Jubilees 11.5; 17.16; 18.9. Cp. Manual of Discipline, note 29.
=======
The Letter of the Law: Ordinances
---1. I.e., of the community of Israel.
2. Literally, 'who is in Israel'.
3. Cp. Exod. 22.2.
4. Literally, 'He may eat of the field with his mouth'.
5. The law in Deut. 24.25-26 permits access only to the standing, but not to the threshed, corn.
6. Literally, 'as ransom (kopher) for his person'. On the varied meanings of the Hebrew term, see S. R.
Driver's careful note in ICC, Deuteronomy (1895), pp. 425f.
7. Allegro restores the defective text to read, 'only once shall he give it during his lifetime', i.e., in
contrast to the annual assessment in postexilic times. But it is difficult to see how the Temple could be
maintained as a going concern on such a basis. Obviously, what is meant is that the value of the due is
to remain constant, and not fluctuate (e.g., in accordance with the man's income; cp. Exod. 30.15), or
even that, once he has paid it, no one is to be 'dunned' for more by way of supplementary or indirect
taxation. (State and Federal legislators please note!)
8. Literally, 'according to the sacred shekel', see R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel (repr. 1965), p. 203.
9. Cp. Exod. 12.37; Num. 11.21.
10. A talent consisted of 60 minas; a mina, of 50 shekels.
11. Literally, simply 'the Third'. Allegro points out that David divided the people into three companies
for military purposes; cp. II Sam. 18.2; 23.18-19. This seems, indeed, to have been a regular military
tactic; cp. Judges 7.16; 9.43; I Sam. 11.11; 13.17.
12. The computation implies a force of 3000 men. It is therefore pertinent to observe that in various
offensives Saul recruited just this number; cp. I Sam. 13.2; 24.3 (2); 26.2. Three thousand, however,
was also simply a round number; cp. Judges 15.11; I Kings 5.12; I Chron. 29.4; II Chron. 25.13; 29.33;
35.7. So was 300,000; cp. I Sam. 11.8; II Sam. 17.14; II Chron. 25.5; 26.13. And so too was 300; cp.
Judges 11.26; 15.4; II Sam. 21.16; II Kings 18.14; Esther 9.15, etc. (Similarly in classical literature;
e.g., Catullus, ix, 2; xii, 10; Horace, Sat., I, v, 10; Tibullus, I, iv, 69; Martial, xii, 1xx; and in ritual
contexts, Vergil, Aeneid, iv, 510; vii, 273, etc.)
13. Likewise a military contingent; cp. Exod. 18.21, 25; Deut 1.15; I Sam. 8.12; War, iv, 3, 4;
'Zadokite' Document, xiii, 1.
14. Cp. Ezek. 45.11.
15. The reading of this line is doubtful, and the text is defective.
16. In Manual, viii, Iff. the judicial council consists of 12 laymen and 3 priests; in 'Zadokite'
Document, x, 4ff., of 6 laymen and 4 priests.
17. Literally, 'who has acted high-handedly'; cp. Num. 15.30; Manual, v, 12; viii, 17, 22; ix, 1;
'Zadokite' Document, viii, 8; x, 3; xix, 21.
18. The Biblical commandment was probably directed in the first instance against cultic transvestism,
for the word rendered 'abomination' usually refers to the ritual practises of the heathen; see T. H.
Gaster, Myth, Legend, and Custom in the Old Testament (1969), §102.
19. Literally, 'brings a bad name upon ...'
20. I have assumed a scribal error in the text, for otherwise it is in flat contradiction to the law of Deut.
22.19. It is possible, however, that the Brotherhood modified the ancient legislation on the
compassionate assumption that an innocent woman thus slandered would find life intolerable with the
man who had defamed her.
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A Formulary of Blessings
---1. Based on Deut. 28.12. The same passage is quoted in connection with the Priestly Benediction in
Sifre, §43.
2. Cp. Sifre, §41.
3. Based on Ps. 36.9, 'For with Thee is the Wellspring of life; in Thy light do we see light'. The
passage naturally came to mind in connection with the Priestly Benediction's 'May He cause His face
to shine upon (literally, give light to) thee'. Cp. also Jer. 2.13; 17.13.
4. Cp. Manual of Discipline, col. iii.
5. Cp. the Palestinian Targum's paraphrase of Num. 6.24: 'The Lord ... keep thee from liliths and things
that cause terror and from demons of noonday (cp. Ps. 91.5-6) and of morning, and from malign spirits
and phantoms' (tr. Etheridge). Similarly, Sifre, §40.
6. Based on Deut. 7.12, the passage being suggested by the expression 'and keep thee' in the Priestly
Benediction. Similarly, Sifre, §40.
7. Suggested by the expression, 'and give thee peace'. Cp. Sifre, §42: 'Rabbi Eleazar ha-Kappar (2nd
cent.) saith, Great is peace, for every blessing is sealed with it, as it is said, The Lord bless thee ... and
grant thee peace'.
8. Based on I Sam. 2.9, 'He keepeth the feet of His devoted servants'. Similarly, Sifre, §40.
9. Cp. Deut. 28.8.
10. Cp. Lev. 26.31. This shows clearly that the passage is addressed to a priest.
11. I.e., the sacred offerings of the priests.
12. Cp. Neh. 10.34.
13. A reference to the crown of the high priest; cp. Ex. 29.6; Lev. 8.9.
14. Perhaps suggested by reference to the crown.
15. Cp. Hymns, iii, 20; xi, 12; xviii, 28-29. This suggests at once a play on the words 'lift up'.
16. A play on the fact that the high priest officiates on earth in the midst of 'holy ones', i.e., the other
priests.
17. The allusion to leading troops into battle suggests yet another play on the expression 'lift up', viz.
lift up a banner; cp. Isa. 5.26; 11.12; 18.3; Jer. 4.6; 50.2, etc.
18. The restoration is based on the assumption that there is once again a play on the expression 'lift
up'—this time in the sense of lift up a sword; cp. Isa. 2.4; Mic. 4.3. Cp. also Deut. 9.3; Ps. 81.15; I
Chron. 17.10.
19. Or, 'thy peace'.
20. Cp. Ezek. 16.14.
21. Service in the earthly sanctuary is to be but a prelude to similar office in the heavenly sanctuary.
The latter, in which the angel Michael officiates as high priest, is mentioned in Talmud, Hagigah, 12b.
22. A reference to the fact that the priest received the first- fruits or the prime part of certain offerings;
cp. Num. 18.12; Deut 18.4; Ezek. 44.30.
23. A reference to the priestly 'portion' of offerings; cp. Lev. 7.33; II Chron. 31.4. I
24. A reference to the priestly diadem; cp. Ezek. 29.6; 39.30; Lev. 8.9.
24a. Hebrew, nasi'. The title probably denotes the eth-narch, the civic chief of the Jewish community.
Concerning this office, see: I Mace. 14.47; 15.1-2; Josephus, Ant., xii, 6, §7; xiv, 8, §5; 10, §2; Y.
Yadin, Megillath Milhamath Bene Or bi-Bene Hoshech (1956), p. 285. In the 'Zadokite' Document, v,
1, the law of Deut. 17.15, which refers to the king, is said to refer to the nasi', and ib., vii. 20, the 'rod'
which, according to Balaam's prophecy (Num. 24.17), will someday 'rise out of Israel', is interpreted as
the future 'nasi' of the entire community'. In normative Judaism of the intertestamental period, the nasi'
was paired with the 'father of the court' (ab beth din) as joint president of the Sanhedrin. The title itself
derives from the Bible (Ex. 16.22; Lev. 4.22; Jos. 9.15, 18; 17.4, etc.), where, however, it denotes
simply any one of the tribal chieftains of Israel.
25. Cp. Isa. 11.4.
26. Cp. Isa. 30.13.
27. Cp. Isa. 11.4.
28. Cp. Isa. 11.2.
29. Cp. Isa. 11.5.
30. Cp. Mic. 4.13.
31. Cp. Mic. 7.10; Zech. 9.3; 10.5; Ps. 18.43, etc.
32. Cp. Isa. 14.5.
33. The word rendered 'chargers' is used in The War of the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness to
denote 'light-armed troops' (the Roman velites). The suggestion is, therefore: 'May thy troops spread
far and wide'.
2 - The Praise Of God (Hymns and Psalms)
---My soul thirsteth for Thee; my flesh longeth for Thee,
in a dry and weary land, where no water is.
Psalm 63.1
=======
Introduction
The chanting of psalms was one of the basic elements of worship in the Second Temple, and
continued as a main feature of public devotions in the synagogue and church. In course of time,
however, the Biblical repertoire was supplemented by more 'modern' compositions in the same style.
I
The Brotherhood possessed its own Book of Hymns written in this vein. It is contained in one of the
scrolls discovered by the Bedouin boys in 1947 and extends to eighteen columns plus a large number
of fragments too disjointed to translate. The end of each hymn was marked carefully by a blank space,
but since the lower portion of each column has been eaten away, this indication must often have
occurred in places where it is no longer evident.
Hence, we cannot tell how many compositions even the main portion of the scroll originally
contained, nor is it always possible to distinguish any one of them from the next This is especially the
case in the latter part of the manuscript, where the best that can be done in a translation is simply to
indicate where a new column begins.
In cases where their beginnings can still be recognized, the hymns often open with the words, 'I give
thanks unto Thee, O Lord'. For this reason they have come to be known as the Psalms (or Hymns) of
Thanksgiving—a title which is all the more appropriate when it is remembered that in the early
synagogue and church, 'thanksgiving' was a technical term for a clearly defined type of liturgical
composition.
Some of the pieces, however, begin with the alternative formula, 'Blessed art Thou', and this is equally
significant in view of the fact that 'blessing' seems likewise to have denoted in antiquity not only a
formula of benediction but also a specific type of hymn. Accordingly, the joint title, Blessings and
Thanksgivings (Hebrew, Bera-choth we-Hodayoth) would appear to be the most adequate.
The hymns represent the most original literary creation in the Dead Sea Scriptures. It is true that they
are, in the main, mosaics of Biblical quotations and that they often exhibit all the learned and tortured
exploitation of Scripture that we find later in the medieval poetasters (payye-tanim) of the synagogue.
This, however, is merely the trammel of literary convention, and it should no more dull our ears to the
underlying passion and authenticity of feeling than do the mannered conceits of a Donne or a Herbert
or a Vaughan.
Especially noteworthy is the prevalence in these hymns of the vocabulary which Evelyn Underhill and
others have recognized as the standard and characteristic idiom of mystical experience. There is the
same harping on the wilderness of isolation; the same reference to the 'ascent' to God and to 'the
height of eternal things'; the same metaphor (particularly in Hymn No. 5) of the New Birth and the
'travail of the world'; the same intensive apprehension of Divine providence, communion and
'enlightenment'; and the same sense of nursing a precious secret against the day of revelation.
Apprehension of these notes is of the essence in understanding the spirit of the hymns in particular
and of the Brotherhood in general.
It has been suggested that some of the hymns, which speak of deliverance from froward assailants
('the company of Belial' or 'the men of corruption'), were designed for the use of soldiers who had
escaped their adversaries or defeated them. To the present writer, such a view seems singularly and
unperceptively overliteral; it confuses the 'slings and arrows of outrageous fortune' with concrete
bazookas and guided missiles. Similarly, there seems no good
reason for assuming, as has been done, that Hymn No. {8} must necessarily have been written by 'the
teacher of Righteousness' simply because it speaks of one who sought to impart God's law to his
brethren but was constantly thwarted and abused by 'preachers of lies' and 'prophets of deceit'. What
the text is describing is the normal and typical frustration of the mystic—the experience of every man
who believes that he has seen God and that he is burning a small candle in the darkness of a world
unredeemed.
To the main body of hymns we have here prefixed another, which the ancient librarians of Qumran
attached to a copy of the Manual of Discipline. If one reads it carefully, one will find that it repeats
almost verbatim the list of obligations and the basic oath of allegiance laid down in that document for
new members of the Brotherhood.
It may therefore be regarded as a hymn chanted by Initiants when they were formally received into the
community; and this would in turn explain why the ancient librarians considered it an appropriate
liturgical 'appendix' to the Manual. On this hypothesis we have called it The Hymn of the Initiants.
The Scrolls themselves, it may be added, bear no titles; those assigned by modern scholars are
therefore in any case quite arbitrary.
II
Several further hymns are included in a compendium (preserved in several incomplete copies) the
major part of which contains portions of the Biblical Book of Psalms. This compendium, which has
been somewhat tendentiously called The Dead Sea Psalm Scroll', and presumed to be a variant form
of the canonical collection, was probably compiled for liturgical purposes. (1)
Three of the extracanonical hymns have been known hitherto from late Syriac manuscripts—none
earlier than the fourteenth century. Evidently once current in the services of the Eastern Orthodox
Church, they are part of a group of five fancifully attributed to David, (2) who is indeed credited, in a
kind of colophon to our scroll, with no less than 4050 effusions! (3)
a. David (Psalm 151). The first of these three 'Davidic' compositions to be here presented (though in
fact the last in the manuscript) is an old acquaintance: it is the poem appended to the Greek
(Septuagint) Version of the canonical Psalter and there entitled, A genuine, though supernumerary,
Psalm of David, composed when he engaged Goliath in single combat. (4) There are, however, some
variations and additions, and that the latter were part of the original text, and no mere interpolations
by some Qum-ramte redactor, is evident from the fact that they complete the chain of ideas and give
coherence to what in the Greek Version appears as a string of somewhat inconsequential sentences.
To put it mildly, the translator was something of a clod.
The psalm relates, in the first person and in an artless style characteristic more of folk poetry than of
sophisticated literary invention, the story of how David, the youngest son of Jesse, was relegated by
his father to the humble task of tending sheep and goats (v. 1); how he made a Panpipe and lyre in
order to pay honor thereon to God (v. 2); how he was inwardly aware all the while that the mute
mountains and hills were incapable of conveying to God what they had witnessed of his piety, and the
rustling leaves of relaying his praises, and the sheep of reporting how well he was tending them (v. 3);
how, though he was himself left wondering who or what could possibly bring word of his activities,
God, Lord of the Universe, nevertheless saw and heard all, without need of intermediaries (v. 4); and
how, in consequence, he was selected by God's envoy, the prophet Samuel, to be the future leader of
Israel and was anointed with sacred oil, in preference to his older and seemingly more attractive
brothers (vv. 5-7).
This, to be sure, is but one interpretation of the text, but it is supported by the fact that echoes of it are
indeed to be heard in later Jewish legend (midrash), where we are told that God chose David to
shepherd His people precisely because He saw how well he shepherded his father's flocks, (5) and
also—a notion repeated in the Koran—that when He heard his songs of praise, He commanded birds
and sheep thenceforth to join in. (6)
There is, however, an interesting alternative. By reading a single word somewhat differently, (7) some
scholars have extracted the sense that, though mountains and hills were indeed inarticulate and
seemingly unresponsive, trees and flocks 'recognized the excellence' of David's words and music. (8)
On this basis it has then been suggested that the poet was influenced by a popular fancy of his day
which assimilated the 'sweet singer of Israel' to the classical Orpheus who, as Shakespeare puts it,
With his lute made trees/ And the mountain-tops that freeze/ Bow themselves when he did sing'.
In support of this suggestion it is pointed out that in a prominent position in the synagogue at DuraEuropus there is a fresco depicting an Orpheus-like figure by some identified as David; (9) that a
representation of the same scene occurs in a Jewish catacomb at Rome; (10) and that in various
manuscripts of the Psalter David is indeed portrayed as Orpheus. (11) Though all of them
considerably later than our Qumran scroll, these representations are taken to attest the persistence of
an ancient tradition.
In my opinion, this interpretation overshoots the mark. In the first place, there is no solid evidence that
David was ever identified with Orpheus at an earlier date. (12) Secondly, the notion that inanimate
things or nature in general can be charmed by music in fact occurs in folktales from several parts of
the world, (13) so that, even if this is what our text means, it by no means implies a specific
identification of David with Orpheus.
Thirdly, this interpretation overlooks the essential distinction between the inability of the rustling
leaves to repeat David's words—that is, his songs of praise—and that of the sheep to apprise God of
his acts —that is, his proficiency and solicitude as a shepherd. It is just this combination, as later
midrash insists, that fitted him for the leadership of Israel. Fourthly, the proposed rendering, The hills
do not tell forth (God's glory), involves the grammatical anomaly of making a feminine noun govern a
verb with masculine form.
There is also a difference of opinion about the meaning of the succeeding verse (v. 4). In the editio
princeps this is rendered:
For who can proclaim and who can bespeak
and who can recount the deeds of the Lord?
Everything has God seen,
everything has He heard
and He has heeded. (14)
This, I think, misses the sense. The words are a continuation of David's inner thought, and what they
say is, quite simply, that although he was initially left wondering who or what could ever report his
activities, God as Lord of All nevertheless saw and heard everything without any such mediation. In
support of this interpretation a number of points can be made. First: as several scholars have pointed
out, (15) the Hebrew word 'adon, which has been rendered 'the Lord', is nowhere else used in this
absolute form in reference to God, the usual style being Adonai. Second: our author elsewhere
employs the Tetragrammaton (YHWH), which, to boot, he writes reverently in archaic script (vv. 2,
6).
Third: by construing the word all as part of the title, viz., Lord of All, rather than as the object of the
verb saw, we recover an expression which indeed occurs elsewhere in intertestamental literati -e (16)
and which is also found in precisely the same Hebrew form in the famous 'Alenu-prayer, commonly
regarded as of pre-Christian origin. (17) Fourthly, the rendering, He has heeded, misses the specific
point of the Hebrew word, which means properly, gave ear and thus states that God was able all by
Himself (Heb. He—emphatic) to hear what David was singing, even though it was not reported to
Him.
It is perhaps worth suggesting that our author wrote under the influence of secular Hellenistic poetry.
Thus the reference to David's making a Panpipe and lyre (v. 2), though obviously based on the
Scriptural allusions to his musical skill (I Sam. 16.18, 23), may be intended at the same time to depict
him as the typical shepherd of Greek pastoral idyl. (18) Pious David, however, plies his instruments to
the glory of God—not, as do the Greek swains, merely for diversion or in order to sing 'amorous
ditties all a summer's day'.
Again, when nature is here portrayed as unresponsive to his warblings, this is perhaps a sly jibe at the
conventional cliche, common in Theocritus (and later imitated by Vergil), that the whole woodland
responds to the sounds of the flute. (19) So too, when it is said of David's brothers (v. 6) that they
were not only tall and handsome, but also 'graced with comely locks' (a detail absent from the
Septuagint Version!), may we not detect a Hellenic note, for this is quite frequently mentioned in
Greek poetry, (20) whereas—as my friend and former student, Mr. Murray Lichtenstein, has pointed
out to me—in Ancient Near Eastern verse the big thing in descriptions of bodily beauty is usually the
eyes.
It should be observed, however, in connection with this last point, that later midrash does indeed make
much of the seductive properties of Joseph's locks, (21) and it is possible that our author had some
earlier form of this legend specifically in mind, seeing that he describes the brothers in terms which
the Bible applies to Joseph (Gen. 39.6).
Finally, it should be noted that the encounter with Goliath, which is incorporated into the Greek
Version and which gives it its title, is, in the Qumran scroll, made the subject of a separate psalm,
with its own superscription. Only a few fragments of the initial verses, however, have survived.
b. Invitation. The second of the extracanonical hymns is a summons to join in acclaiming the glory of
God in public assembly and in imparting to the ignorant a knowledge of His majesty and power. This,
it is said, is the true role of wisdom, and whoever is responsive to this duty is as acceptable to God as
one who offers sacrifice or as the savor of incense.
The voice and song of Wisdom ring out from the homes of the godly, but ignorant and intemperate
men keep away from it. When the righteous and godly sit at meals, their talk is of wisdom and the
Lore (Torah) of God—things of which the wicked and arrogant neither speak nor know. The
righteous, however, have their reward: God looks compassionately upon them, and will surely deliver
them from 'the evil time'—that is, more specifically, from the period of turmoil and distress which
will precede the Messianic Age and which the men of Qumran already saw all around them.
The psalm concludes with a call to bless God as the redeemer of the humble and oppressed, the sure
restorer of Israel's glory, and as the One who will govern the world from the midst of Israel, 'spread
His tent' in Zion, and be ever at hand in Jerusalem.
The psalm has been read as a call to 'service' addressed specifically to the Qumran Brotherhood, the
words join company, which occur in the third verse, being rendered, form a community. (22) I would
suggest, however, quite a different interpretation—namely, that this is really what is termed in
rabbinic literature a Birkath Zimmun, a call to an assembled company to join in the Grace after Meals,
coupled with an invitation to participate in the 'talk about Torah' which was a customary concomitant
of such gatherings.
Such an invitation to 'say Grace' is issued by a delegated member of the group whenever three or more
persons dine together, the custom being as old, according to the Palestinian Talmud (Berachoth, vii.2)
as Simon ben Shetah, who lived during the reigns of Alexander Jannaeus and Salome (104—69
B.C.E.). The meal must be accompanied by 'words of Torah'; otherwise, as later sages put it, (23) it is
no better than a 'session of scoffers' (cp. Ps. 1.1) or than 'sacrifices offered to the dead' (cp. Ps.
106.28). (24)
This suggestion derives especially from the explicit reference (v. 3) to the fact that when the godly 'eat
their fill and drink', the voice of Wisdom—a common rabbinic synonym for Torah—rings out, and
their talk is of the Lore (Torah) of the Most High and is designed to further knowledge of His power.
It finds further support in the fact that all the original elements of the Grace, as they are prescribed in
the Talmud (Berachoth, 48a), viz., the reference to 'eating to satiety and blessing God' (a quotation
from Deut. 8.10); to the eventual 'raising of the horn', i.e., enhancement of the status, of God's people;
and to the establishment of His abode in Zion, find place in this composition; (25) while the statement
(v. 12) that the song of
Wisdom rings out may readily be seen as an allusion to the chanting of psalms at meals—a custom
familiar especially from the Last Supper (Matt. 26.30; Mark 14.26) and still current in Jewish practise.
Moreover, the assertion (vv. 10-11) that he who acclaims the majesty of God (in response to the direct
summons in v. 1) is as one who offers oblation accords significantly with a passage in the Hymn of
the Initiants (below, p. 138) which says explicitly,
At the common board,
or ever I raise my hand
to enjoy the rich yield of the earth,
with the fruit of my own lips
I will bless Him as with an oblation.
The concluding invocation, Bless ye, likewise accords with the suggestion that our poem was really a
prelude to the Grace after Meals, for it is indeed the formula prescribed in the mishnah when many
dine together. (26)
Finally, it is perhaps worthy of note that in the Qumran compendium the poem follows Psalm 145, for
this may have been due to the occurrence in that psalm of the verses (15-16)
The eyes of all wait upon Thee,
and Thou givest them their food in due season.
Thou openest Thy hand
and givest in full measure to all living
that which they desire;
—the latter of which is actually incorporated into the opening benediction of the traditional Grace.
c. Plea for Grace. The third of the 'psalms' already known from the Syriac manuscripts is composed in
the form of an alphabetical acrostic and is a plea for the remission of punishment for sins. Not
impossibly, it was designed for recitation in illness, this being regarded as a requital for misdeeds. The
hymn is largely a pastiche of Biblical verses, and the original acrostic has occasionally been disturbed
(as in the first chapter of Nahum) by later editing or by such distortion as is apt to arise when a poem
gains popular currency.
Of the three hymns hitherto unknown, the first (here entitled Supplication) is likewise a prayer for
forgiveness of sin and remission of punishment. It belongs, though in a more personal vein, to the
liturgical genre known later as Selihoth (or Baqashoth), i.e., Pleas for Pardon.
There is, however, a notable difference between this composition and those which find place in the
traditional Jewish prayer book, inasmuch as the latter seek forgiveness for sins actually committed,
whereas here the major emphasis is on immunity from the proclivity to sin and from demonic
possession. Such immunity is the natural outcome of that enlightenment and insight which
accompanies a sense of the divine and which the Qumran Brotherhood claimed as their special
endowment.
The second of the entirely new hymns has been called by its first editor An Apostrophe to Zion. (27)
It is, however, more than a mere patriotic anthem, such as we find, for instance, in Psalm 87, for while
it certainly celebrates the glories of Zion and of her ancient inhabitants, its main thrust is to provide
consolation and assurance of deliver-ance from its foes. Indeed, one is tempted to suggest that the
poem may have been composed during the time of the First Jewish Revolt, when the Roman troops
were closing in.
The last of the 'new' hymns is, without doubt, the gem of the collection.
It is an ancient Jewish belief that every daybreak is a renewal of creation. For this reason, the
appropriate moment for the initial devotions of the day is when the glimmer of dawn first appears in
the sky, and the world is reborn. (28) The recital of the Shema'—a. cardinal element in the morning
and evening services—is preceded in the former by a series of benedictions the first of which celebrates the creation of daylight and is known as Yoser because God is specifically described in it as
yôser 'ôr, 'creator of light'.
The traditional form of this prayer has been attributed by some authorities to the Essenes, and in
subsequent generations hymnodic elaborations of the central theme formed a distinct genre of Hebrew
liturgical poetry. What we have here entitled Morning Hymn is a composition of this type.
The hymn is perhaps the most imaginative in the entire Qumran repertoire. It plays successively on
the several features of daybreak—the rising of the sun, the dissipation of darkness, the increased
movement of the sea, the growing intensity of the light, the lifting of mists from the mountains, the
gradual emergence to view of the green and dew-drenched meadows. Each of these features is
regarded as a manifestation at once of God's power and grace.
The all-seeing sun was envisaged in remoter Semitic antiquity as the god of justice and was said to be
attended by twin sons, Right and Equity, who stood respectively on his right and left. This ancient
concept was later developed into a description of essential qualities associated with God (cp. Ps.
85.11). In our text, Loving-kindness and Truth are said to encompass Him, and Justice and Right to be
the mainstays of His throne.
Similarly, in the traditional form of the Yoser-hymn, Purity and Rectitude stand before His throne,
Loving-kindness and Compassion before His glory, while Knowledge and Understanding surround
Him. (29) The notion is then in turn developed in kabbalistic lore, where such qualities (arranged in
pairs) are regarded as constituent elements of a pluralistic Deity.
The idea need not be discarded in our own times as a mere outworn fantasy. It is susceptible of still
further development. The assertion that Knowledge and Understanding circle around God may be
understood today not in the sense that He is enveloped by them, but rather that all empirical
perception and science can at best but skirt His essence.
Similarly, the affirmation that Loving-kindness and Compassion stand before His glory may mean for
us today that the benevolence and compassion revealed (one might say, inbuilt) in the order of
Nature—such factors as the inevitable return of spring, the instinctive love of mother for child, the
ability both to remember and to forget—take precedence over its outward majesty as manifestations of
God, and that He attaches more importance to them than to the physical display of His splendor.
The association of daybreak with creation is brought out in our poem by a direct reference to a
passage in the Book of Job (38.7) where it is said that at the dawn of the world all the celestial hosts
(styled 'sons of God') and all the morning stars burst into song. The verse is exquisitely chosen, for the
earthly counterparts of those 'sons of God' are the faithful and sensitive among men, while those of the
morning stars are the illumined 'children of light' whom the men of Qumran claimed (or, at least,
aspired) to be. The implication is, therefore, that in their daily matins the latter are in fact emulating
what their heavenly archetypes did at the first dayspring.
III
The Lament for Zion is not part of the 'psalmodic' compendium, but has been pieced together out of
two separate fragments retrieved from another cave. (30) In style and content it is the forerunner of
the dirges which came later to be chanted in the synagogue on the Fast of Ab, the anniversary of the
destruction of the Temple.
Like those compositions, it draws heavily on the Biblical Book of Lamentations (likewise part of the
service), and punctuates the several stanzas with the refrain, Woe unto us (31) The archaeological
evidence makes it clear that the poem was composed before 68 C.E., the year in which the Qumran
'monastery' was abandoned. The Temple which the poem mourns is therefore the First Temple,
destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.E., and if it be asked why such mourning should have
continued when a second temple was in fact standing, the answer is that, by reason of the venality of
the Jerusalemitan priests, the men of Qumran regarded the latter as polluted and no longer recognized
its sanctity.
At first, no doubt, dirges of this kind were inspired more immediately by nostalgia on the part of those
who had actually witnessed the disaster and by despair at the loss of relatives and friends—an intense
personal trauma like that experienced in our own day by survivors of the Nazi holocaust.
In course of time, however, Zion came to take on a wider meaning. Just as the Temple was, while it
stood, the outward symbol of God's presence among His people and of their own reciprocal devotion
to Hun, so its destruction became that of His seeming withdrawal (or 'exile') and of their own
defection from Him. The dirges then tended to become stereotyped in the form of literary cliches and
imitations of the Biblical Book of Lamentations, and this is what we find in our poem.
It can scarcely be described as either a spontaneous cri du coeur or as a literary masterpiece; it lacks
both the artistry and inventiveness of (say) the great lament in The Apocalypse of Baruch (32)and the
simple pathos of (say) Jane Elliot's famous Lament for Flodden. (33) Indeed, the sound of tears seems
to have degenerated into little more than a liturgical bleat
Just the opposite note is sounded in two short poems contained in a fragmentary hymnal retrieved
from Cave 4. These are songs of consolation, holding out the hope of an imminent era of prosperity,
the rout of the wicked (Belial), and the restoration of past glories. They are little more than pastiches
of Biblical verses and lack any real creative originality.
=======
Notes
---1. I see no reason for assuming that the Qumran com-pendium represents an alternative canonical
Psalter. A crucial objection to this view (which no one seems yet to have pointed out) is that, while
there are no less than 154 quotations from our standard Psalter in The Book of Hymns and other
Qumran writings (see be-low, pp. 144fE.), there is nary a one from the 'extra' hymns included in the
present collection. This surely proves that the latter were not 'familiar in men's mouths' as words of
Scripture.
2. For details, see J. A. Sanders, ed., DSD IV: The Psalms Scroll from Cave 11 (1965), pp. 53f. The
standard edition is that of Martin Noth, in Zeitschrift fur die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, 48
(1930), pp 1-23, which includes a retroversion into Hebrew.
3. Such attribution has nothing whatsoever to do with the question of canonization. Nor is it of any
real im-portance that there are differences between the Qum-ran text, the Masoretic recension, and the
Greek (Septuagint) Version concerning the Davidic authorship of certain psalms. Such variant
ascriptions were not uncommon in antiquity, even as they are today among classical scholars. Some
rabbis, for instance, even attributed the Book of Job to Moses! Moreover, the Talmud (Baba Bathra,
14b) records a tradition that David put together a vast corpus of psalms, some of which went back to
Abraham!
4. Pseudo-Philo, Biblical Antiquities, 59.4, quotes another psalm which David is said to have indited
when he fought Goliath. The title, A Hallelujah, found in the Qumran scroll, recalls the later statement
by R. Arika ('Rab'; c. 220 C.E.), cited in Midrash Tehillim, 1, that this is the most appropriate
designation of the Psalter as a whole.
5. Midrash Tehillim, 78.20; Exodus Rabba, ii.2.
6. Koran, Suras xxi.79; xxxiv.10.
7. For <ale ha-'esim, 'the leaves of the trees', they read 'illu ha-'esim, giving to the former word the
meaning which it bears in post-Biblical Hebrew.
8. Cp. Sanders, op. cit., p. 62.
9. Cp. E. R. Goodenough, Jewish Symbols in the Graeco-Roman Period, iii (1953), fig. 604; v (1956),
figs. 117-19. For the identification with David cp. C. H. Kraeling, The Excavations at Dura-Europus,
Sixth Season (1936), p. 370; Rachel Wischnitzer, The Messianic Theme in the Paintings of the Dura
Synagogue (1948), p. 95.
10. In the Vigna Randanini, on the Via Appia; cp. Robert Eisler, Orphisch-Dionysische
Mysteriengedanken (1925), pp. 4-5.
11. Cp. Eisler, op. cit., p. 11.
12. In later midrash he is sometimes identified with Hermes, as inventor of the lyre, and it is even said
that he sits in heaven twanging his harp under the name of Hermesiel!
13. Cp. Stith Thompson, Motif-Index of Folk Literature, D.I275.1; T. H. Gaster, The Oldest Stories in
the World (1952), pp. 13If. One thinks, for instance, of Wanaimoinen's music in the Finnish Kalevala.
14. The Greek Version substitutes, And who will report (this) to my Lord? The Syriac, with no less
lack of sequence, has, Who will show me my Lord? He, the Lord, has become my God. Neither
translator could read poetry.
15. E.g., S. Rabbinowitz, in Zeitschrift fur die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, 76 (1964), pp. 193ff.
16. E.g., II Maccabees, 9.5; 12.22; 15.2; III Mace. 2.21; Sibylline Oracles, frag, i.4, ed. Geffcken.
17. S. Singer, ed., The Authorized Daily Prayerbook (1890), p. 76.
18. Cp. Theocritus, Id., iv, 28; vii, 71.
19. Cp. Theocritus, Id., vi, 43-44; vii, 74; Vergil, Eel, v, 62f.; vii, 2.22f.; x, 9.
20. E.g., Theocritus, Id., v, 91; cp. also Horace, Odes, hi, 20, 14.
21. Cf. L. Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, ii, 5, 44, 48. This detail finds place also in the retelling of
the story in the Persian poet Jami's Yusuf and Zuleikha; see J. D. Yohannan, ed., Joseph and
Potiphar's Wife in World Literature (1968), pp. 176, 180.
22. This rendering depends on taking the Hebrew word yahad, 'together', as the noun which elsewhere
designates the Qumran Brotherhood. But this is forced, since the expression is modelled directly on
Psalm 122.3.
23. Mishnah, Aboth iii, 3, 4. The sayings are attributed respectively to Hananiah b. Teradion
(martyred, 135 C.E.) and Simeon b. Yohai (c. 100-70 C.E.).
24. In the Mishnaic context, the reference is probably to the Roman feriae novendiales, a sacrifice and
funeral repast on the ninth day after burial (cp. Juvenal, Sat., v, 85; Servius, on Vergil, Aen., v, 64) or
to the silicernium, a meal near the grave (cp. Terence, Adelphi, iv, 2, 48; Servius, on Vergil, Aen., v,
92).
25. The elements of 'building Jerusalem' (cp. Ps. 147.2) and of 'causing the horn of David to flourish'
(cp. Ps. 132.17) occur in succession in the Eighteen Benedictions (xiv, xv) in the Jewish liturgy, while
references to 'deliverance in the day of trouble', the redemption of Israel, the building of the City, the
flourishing of the horn' both of David and of Israel, and God's choice of Zion appear also in the hymn
which is inserted in the Genizah text of Sirach, after 51.12.
26. The Mishnah (Berachoth, vii.3) says that if three, or a hundred, or a thousand, or a myriad others
be present, the formula must begin, Bless ye, rather than Let us bless, as when there are but three
persons in all. R. Akiba and R. Ishmael assert, however, that Bless ye is the formula in all cases. This
corresponds to the Christian Benedicite. To 'say Grace' is still called colloquially 'to bensh', i.e., a
Judaeo-German (Yiddish) corruption of that word.
27. A second copy has now been identified in a fragmentary scroll from another cave at Qumran.
28. Mishnah, Berachoth, i.l; cp. Wisdom of Solomon, 16.28. 29 S. Singer, ed., Authorized Daily
Prayerbook (1962), p.39.
30. There are also sundry minor scraps too fragmentary to translate.
31. Most of these compositions are, to be sure, medieval, and many of them commemorate later
catastrophes. For those of the Ashkenazic rite, see S. Baer, ed., Seder ha-Qinoth (Rodelheim, 1913).
Those of the Sephardic rite derive mainly from the Spanish school of Jewish poets and are of far
superior literary quality. For representative translations see T. H. Gaster, Festivals of the Jewish Year
(1953), pp. 207ff.; Nina Davis, Songs of Exile (1901). An interesting specimen of the same genre is
the Judaeo-Greek lament published by Benjamin Schwartz in The Joshua Bloch Memorial Volume
(New York, 1960), pp. 107-44.
32. x.6-9.
33. Richard Aldington, ed., The Viking Book of Poetry of the English-speaking World (1941), pp.
582f.
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The Hymn Of The Initiants
[Manual of Discipline, cols, x-xi]
---{1} [Day and night will I offer my praise]
and at all the appointed times which God has prescribed.
When daylight begins its rule,
when it reaches its turning-point, (1)
and when it again withdraws to its appointed abode;
When the watches of darkness begin,
when God opens the storehouse thereof, (2)
when He sets that darkness against the light, (3)
when it reaches its turning-point, (4)
and when it again withdraws in face of the light;
When sun and moon shine forth from the holy Height,
and when they again withdraw to the
glorious Abode; (5)
When the formal seasons come on the days of new
moon, (6)
when they reach their turning-points, (7)
and when they yield place to one another,
as each comes round anew; (*)
---[*] The text here incorporates a series of esoteric glosses which have been omitted from the
translation.
---{5} When the natural seasons come, at whatever time
may be;
when, too, the months begin;
on their feasts and on holy days,
as they come in order due,
each as a memorial in its season (8)—
I shall hold it as one of the laws
engraven of old on the tablets (9)
to render to God as my tribute
—the blessings of my lips. (10)
When the (natural) years begin;
at the turning-points of their seasons,
and when each completes its term
on its natural day,
yielding each to each—
reaping-time to summer,
sowing-time to verdure;
In the (formal) years of weeks,
in the several seasons thereof,
and when, at the jubilee,
the series of weeks begins (11)—
yea, throughout my life,
I shall hold it as one of the laws
engraven of old on the tablets
to offer to God as my fruits—
the praises of my tongue,
and to cull for him as my tithe
—the skilled melody of my lips. (12)
All my music shall be for the glory of God;
my lyre and my harp shall be devoted
to tell of His holy dispensation;
I shall put the flute to my lips
to rehearse the due poise of His judgments.
{10} With the coming of day and night
I shall come ever anew
into God's covenant;
and when evening and morning depart,
shall ob<ser>ve how He sets their bounds. (13)
Only where God sets bounds
—the unchangeable bounds of His Lawwill I too set my domain. (14)
I shall hold it as one of the laws
engraven of old on the tablets
to face my sin and transgression
and avouch the justice of God.
I shall say unto God:
Thou, for me, art the Right!'
and unto the Most High:
'For me Thou art cause of all good!'
Fountain of all knowledge,
Spring of holiness,
Zenith of all glory,
Might omnipotent,
Beauty that never fades,
I will choose the path He shows me,
and be content with His judgments.
Whenever I first put forth my hand or foot,
I will bless His name; (15)
when first I go or come,
when I sit and when I rise, (16)
when I lie down on my couch,
I will sing unto Him.
At the common board,
or ever I raise my hand
to enjoy the rich yield of the earth,
with the fruit of my own lips
I will bless Him as with an oblation. (17)
At the onset of fear and alarm,
or when trouble and stress are at hand,
I will bless him with special thanksgiving
and muse upon His power,
and rely on His mercies always,
and come thereby to know
that in His hand lies the judgment of all living,
and that all His works are truth. (18)
Whenever distress breaks out,
I still will praise Him;
and when His salvation comes,
join the chorus of praise. (19)
I will heap no evil on any,
but pursue all men with good, (20)
knowing that only with God
lies the judgment of all living,
and He it is will award
each man his deserts.
I will not be envious
of the profit of wickedness;
for wealth unrighteously gotten my soul shall not lust (21)
I will not engage in strife
with reprobate men, (22)
forestalling the Day of Requital. (23)
I will not turn back my wrath
from froward men,
nor rest content until justice be affirmed.
I will harbor no angry grudge
against those that indeed repent, (24)
but neither will I show compassion
to any that turn from the way.
I will not console the smitten
until they amend their course.
I will cherish no baseness in my heart,
nor shall there be heard in my mouth
coarseness (25) or wanton deceit;
neither shall there be found upon my lips
deception and lies. (26)
The fruit of holiness shall be on my tongue,
and no heathen filth be found thereon.
I will open my mouth with thanksgiving,
and my tongue shall ever relate
the righteousness of God
and the perfidy of men
until men's transgressions be ended.
Empty words will I banish from my lips;
filth and perverseness from my mind.
I will hedge in knowledge with sound counsel,
{25} and protect [it] with shrewdness of mind.
I will [set] a sober limit
to all defending of faith
and exacting of justice by force.
I will bound God's righteousness
by the measuring-line of occasion.
[I will temper] justice [with mercy],
will show kindness to men downtrodden,
(xi,1) bring firmness to fearful hearts,
discernment to spirits that stray,
enlighten the bowed with sound doctrine,
reply to the proud with meekness,
with humility answer the base
—men rich in worldly goods,
who point the finger of scorn
and utter iniquitous thoughts.
To God I commit my cause.
It is His to perfect my way,
His to make straight my heart
He, in His charity,
will wipe away my transgression.
For He from the Wellspring of Knowledge
has made His light to burst forth,
and mine eye has gazed on His wonders;
and the light that is in my heart
has pierced the deep things of existence.
He is ever the stay of my right hand. (27)
The path beneath my feet
is set on a mighty rock (28)
unshaken before all things.
For that rock beneath my feet
{5} is the truth of God,
and His power is the stay of my right hand;
from the fount of His charity
my vindication goes forth.
Through His mysterious wonder
light is come into my heart;
mine eye has set its gaze
on everlasting things.
A virtue hidden from man,
a knowledge and subtle lore
concealed from human kind;
a fount of righteousness,
a reservoir of strength,
a Wellspring of all glory
wherewith no flesh has converse—
these has God bestowed
on them that He has chosen,
to possess them for ever.
He has given them an inheritance
in the lot of the Holy Beings,
and joined them in communion with the Sons of Heaven, (29)
to form one congregation,
one single communion,
a fabric of holiness,
a plant evergreen, (30)
for all time to come.
But I—-I belong to wicked mankind,
to the communion of sinful flesh.
My transgressions, my iniquities and sins,
and the waywardness of my heart
{10} condemn me to communion with the worm
and with all that walk in darkness.
For a mortal's way is [not] of himself,
neither can a man direct his own steps.
The judgment lies with God,
and 'tis His to perfect man's way.
Only through His knowledge
have all things come to be,
and all that is, is ordained by His thought;
and apart from Him is nothing wrought. (31)
Behold, if I should totter,
God's mercies will be my salvation.
If I stumble in the waywardness of flesh,
I shall be set aright
through God's righteousness ever-enduring.
If distress break out,
He will snatch my soul from perdition,
and set my foot on the path.
For He, in His compassion,
has drawn me near unto Him, (32)
and His judgment upon me shall be rendered in His mercy.
In his righteous truth He has judged me,
and in His abundant goodness
will shrive my iniquities,
and in His righteousness cleanse me
from all the pollution of man
{15} and the sin of human kind,
that I may acknowledge unto God His righteousness,
and unto the Most High His majestic splendor.
Blessed art Thou, O my God,
Who hast opened the heart of Thy servant unto knowledge.
Direct all his works in righteousness,
and vouchsafe unto the son of Thine handmaid
the favor which Thou hast assured to all the mortal elect,
to stand in Thy presence for ever.
For apart from Thee no man's way can be perfect,
and without Thy will is nothing wrought.
Thou it is that hast taught all knowledge,
and all things exist by Thy will;
and there is none beside Thee
to controvert Thy plan;
none to understand all Thy holy thought,
none to gaze into the depths of Thy secrets,
none to perceive all Thy wonders and the might of
Thy power.
{20} Who can compass the sum of Thy glory?
And what is mere mortal man
amid Thy wondrous works?
And what the child of woman
to sit in Thy presence?
For, behold, he is kneaded of dust,
and his [ ] is the food of worms.
He is but a molded shape, (33)
a thing nipped out of clay, (34)
whose attachment is but to the dust.
What can such clay reply,
or that which is molded by hand?
What thought can it comprehend?
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The Book Of Hymns
Or
Psalms Of Thanksgiving
1 (1) - 1,5-39
......
{5} [Thou art the source of all might]
and the Wellspring of all power;
[yet art Thou also rich in wisdom]
[and] great in counsel. (2)
Thy fury [is vented] in the presence of [ ];
[yet are Thy mercies] beyond number.
[Thou art a God that visits wrongdoing;]
[yet also a God] longsuffering in judgment (3)
In whatsoever Thou doest,
Thou hast ever done justly.
In Thy wisdom didst [Thou call into being]
[spirits] immortal,
and ere Thou didst create them,
didst foreknow their works for all time.
[Apart from Thee] can naught be done,
and naught apprehended save by Thy will. (4)
Thou it is formed every spirit,
[and set due rule] and role for all their works.
{10} When Thou didst stretch out the heavens
for Thy glory,
and [command] all [their host] to do Thy will, (5)
Thou didst also make potent spirits
to keep them in bounds.
Or ever spirits immortal
took on the form of ho[ly] angels, (6)
Thou didst assign them to bear rule
over divers domains:
over the sun and moon,
to govern their hidden powers;
over the stars,
to hold them to their courses;
over [rain and snow,]
to make them fulfill their functions;
over meteors and lightnings,
to make them discharge their tasks; (7)
[and Thou didst set them in] promptuaries (8)
[whence Thou didst cause them to issue]
for their several purposes,
to govern the mysteries of these things. (9)
When, too, in Thy power Thou didst create
earth and seas and deeps,
in Thy wisdom (10) didst Thou set [with] in them
[spirits immortal],
{15} thereby to dispose to Thy will
all that therein is.
[So hast Thou made (his) flesh
a promptuary] in (this) world
for that spirit of man which Thou didst create (11)
to last throughout all time
and for ages infinite,
that it might gov[ern his deeds].
Thou hast assigned the tasks of men's spirits
duly, moment by moment, (12)
throughout their generations;
and Thou hast determined the mode
in which they shall wield their sway,
season by season;
yea, [Thou hast prescribed] their [works,]
age after agealike when they shall be visited with peace
and when they shall suffer affliction. (13)
Thou hast [ man's spirit]
and duly assigned its role
for all his offspring
throughout the generations of time;
and [Thou hast ] it
for all years of eternity.
And in Thy knowing wisdom
Thou hast ordained its fate,
or ever it came into being.
{20} By [Thy will all things exi]st,
and without Thee is nothing wrought. (14)
Shapen of clay and kneaded with water,
a bedrock of shame and a source of pollution,
a cauldron of iniquity and a fabric of sin,
a spirit errant and wayward, (15)
distraught by every just judgment—
what can I say that hath not been foreknown,
or what disclose that hath not been foretold?
All things are inscribed before Thee
in a recording script, (16)
for every moment of time,
for the infinite cycles of years,
in their several appointed times.
{25} No single thing is hidden,
naught missing from Thy presence.
How can man say aught
to account for his sins?
How argue in excuse of his misdeeds?
How can he enter reply
to any just sentence upon him?
Thine, O God of all knowledge, (17)
are all works of righteousness
and the secret of truth;
while man's is but thralldom to wrongdoing,
and works of deceit.
The spirit that lies in man's speech,
Thou didst create.
Thou hast known all the words of man's tongue
and determined the fruit of his lips, (18)
ere those lips themselves had being.
It is Thou that disposeth all words in due sequence (19)
and giveth to the spirit of the lips
ordered mode of expression; (20)
that bringeth forth their secrets
in measured utterances, (21)
and granteth unto spirits
means to express their thoughts,
that Thy glory may be made known,
{30} and Thy wonders told forth
in all Thine unerring works,
and that Thy righteousness [may be proclaimed,]
and Thy name be praised in the mouth of all things,
and that all creatures may know Thee,
each to the meed of his insight,
and bless Thee alway.
Moreover, in Thy mercy and great lovingkindness
Thou hast given man's spirit the strength
to endure afflictions,
and the power to come forth clean,
though never so great its transgressions;
showing thereby unto all Thy works
what wonders Thou canst perform.
[So, for my own part,
what I tell is, to sim]ple minds,
but a tale of my sufferings
and how just they are;
but to the world at large
'tis a tale of miracles
which Thou hast evinced through me
in the sight of all mankind.
Hear, then, ye that are wise,
and sanely reflect;
Ye that are simple-minded, (22)
learn to think with more depth! (23)
Ye that are righteous
put an end to perversity!
Ye that are blameless of conduct
keep a firm stance!
Be patient and spurn not correction!
Though men that are foolish at heart
cannot understand these things,
God's ways are ever just;
while men who behave unbridled
will (be left to) gnash their teeth. (24)
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2 - II, 2-19
......
[I give thanks unto Thee, O Lord,]
for Thou art my strength and [my stronghold, (1)]
and Thou hast delivered my soul
from all works of unrighteousness.
[For Thou hast] put [truth in my heart]
and righteousness [in my spirit,]
along with all gifts of Thy wisd[om;]
{5} and hast crushed the loins [of them]
[that have risen up against me. (2)]
Thou bringest me cheer, O Lord, (3)
amid the sorrow of mourning,
words of peace amid havoc,
stoutness of heart when I faint, fortitude in the face of affliction.
Thou hast given free flow of speech
to my stammering lips;
stayed my drooping spirit
with vigor and strength;
made my feet to stand firm
when they stood where wickedness reigns. (4)
To transgressors I am a snare,
but healing to them that repent,
prudence to the unwary,
temperance to the rash.
{10} Thou hast made me a reproach and a derision
to them that live by deceit,
but a symbol of truth and understanding
to all whose way is straight
I am become an eyesore unto the wicked,
a slander on the lips of the unbridled; (5)
scoffers gnash their teeth.
A song am I unto transgressors, (6)
and the hordes of the wicked rage against me; (7)
like ocean gales they storm which,
when their billows rage, cast up mire and dirt. (8)
Yet, Thou hast set me as a banner
in the vanguard (9) of Righteousness,
as one who interprets with knowledge
deep, mysterious things;
as a touchstone for them that seek the truth,
a standard for them that love correction. (10)
To them that preach misguidance
I am but a man of strife; (11)
{15} but to them that see straight, (12)
[a very symbol of pe]ace.
To them that pursue del fusion]
I am but a gust of zeal; (13)
men that live by deceit
roar against me like the roar of many waters.
Naught is there in their thoughts
save mischievous designs.
When, opening the fount of knowledge
to all that have understanding,
Thou hast set a man's life to rights
by the words of my mouth,
and hast taught unto him Thy lesson
and put understanding in his heart
—they thrust him back into the pit.
In place of these Thy gifts
they offer a witless folk— (14)
stammering lips and barbarous tongue, (15)
that, wandering astray,
they rush headlong to their doom. (16)
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3 - II, 20-30
.....
{20} I give thanks unto Thee, O Lord,
for Thou hast put my soul in the bundle of life (1)
and hedged me (2) against all the snares of corruption.
Because I clung to Thy covenant,
fierce men sought after my life. (3)
But they—a league of Falsehood, a congregation of Belialthey knew not that through Thee I would stand.
For Thou in Thy mercy dost save my life;
for by Thee are my footsteps guided.
Of Thy doing it was that they assailed me,
to the end that by Thy judgment on the wicked
Thy glory might stand revealed,
and that Thou mightest show forth through me
{25} Thy power over mankind;
for by Thy mercy I have stood.
Mighty men, I said, have pitched their camp against me;
their weapons have compassed me,
their shafts have been loosed unceasing;
the flash of their spears is like fire devouring timber,
and the roar of their voices like the roar of many waters.
Like a floodburst bringing ruin far and wide, (4)
all weak things and frail
they crush in a pounding cascade. (5)
Yet, while my heart was dissolving like water,
my soul held firm to Thy covenant,
and they—their own foot was caught
in the net they had spread for me;
in the traps they had hidden for my soul
themselves they fell. (6)
'Now that my foot on level ground doth rest,
{30} Far from the madding crowd, I call Thee blest'. (7)
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4 - II, 31-36
.....
I give thanks unto Thee, O Lord,
for Thine eye is ever awake,
watching over my soul.
Thou hast delivered me
from envy of them that preach falsehood,
and hast freed this hapless soul (1)
from the congregation of them
that seek smooth things
—men who sought to destroy me
and spill my blood in Thy service.
Little did they know
that my steps were ordered of Thee,
when they made me a mock and a reproach
in the mouths of all men of deceit.
But ever, O my God,
hast Thou holpen the soul
of the needy and weak
and snatched him from the grasp
{35} of him that was stronger than he. (2)
So hast Thou freed my soul
from the grasp of mighty men,
nor suffered me so to be crushed by their taunts
that for fear of the mischief which the wicked might wreak
I should forsake Thy service,
or change for wild delusion
the sound spirit which Thou hast vouchsafed me.
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5 - III, 3-18
.....
[I give thanks unto Thee, O Lord,]
for Thou hast illumined [my face]
[with the vision of Thy truth;]
[wherefore I yet shall wa]lk in glory everlasting
along with all [the holy that hear the words of] Thy mouth;
{5} and Thou wilt deliver me from [the pit and the slough.]
Howbeit, at this hour
my soul is [sore dism]ayed.
Men deem me a [worthless shard]
and render my life like a ship stormtossed on the deep,
or like a bastion city1 beleaguered by the [foe.]
Yea, I am in distress
as a woman in travail
bringing forth her firstborn, (2)
when, as her time draws near,
the pangs come swiftly upon her (3)
and all the racking pains (4)
in the crucible of conception.
For now, amid throes of death,
new life is coming to birth, (5)
and the pangs of travail set in,
as at last there enters the world
the man-child long conceived.
Now, amid throes of death,
that man-child long foretold
is about to be brought forth. (6)
{10} Now, 'mid the pangs of hell, (7)
there will burst forth from the womb
that marvel of mind and might, (8)
and that man-child will spring from the throes! (9)
From the moment that he was conceived
pangs have been sweeping apace
over the whole wide world; (10)
new things have been coming to birth
amid racking pains,
and tremors have beset
the wombs in which they lie.
And when he comes to birth,
all those pangs of travail
that rack the world's great womb (11)
—that crucible of conceptionwill take a sudden turn; (12)
what has been conceived
with all the bale of a viper (13)
will end, at the moment of birth,
in mere racking pain,
and all the tremors be but labor lost (14)
For lo, the wall shall rock
unto its prime foundation,
even as rocks a ship
stormtossed on the waters.
The heavens shall thunder loud,
and they that now do dwell
on the crumbling dust of the earth
be as sailors on the seas,
aghast at the roaring of the waters;
and all the wise men thereof
be as mariners on the deep
{15} when all their skill is confounded (15)
by the surging of the seas,
the seething of the depths, (16)
as high o'er the swirling tides (17)
the billows [surge], the breakers roar,
while the gates of Hell (18) burst open,
and at every step they take,
they face Perdition's shafts, (19)
and only the raging deep
hears their cries. (20)
Yet anon shall the gates of [salvation] (21) be opened;
all baleful deeds [will cease], (22)
while the doors of Perdition shall close
on all that Perverseness has conceived,
and everlasting bars
(23) shut in all baleful spirits.
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6 - III, 19-36
.....
I give thanks unto Thee, O Lord,
for Thou hast freed my soul from the pit (1)
and drawn me up from the slough of hell (2)
{20} to the crest of the world.
So walk I on uplands unbounded
and know that there is hope (3)
for that which Thou didst mold out of dust
to have consort with things eternal.
For lo, Thou hast taken a spirit distorted by sin, (4)
and purged it of the taint of much transgression, (5)
and given it a place
in the host of the holy beings,
and brought it into communion
with the sons of heaven.
Thou hast made a mere man to share
the lot of the Spirits of Knowledge, (6)
to praise Thy name in their chorus (7)
and rehearse Thy wondrous deeds
before all Thy works. (8)
I, that am molded of clay,
what am I?
I, that am kneaded with water,
what is my worth?
I, that have taken my stand
where wickedness reigns, (9)
{25} that have cast my lot with the froward;
whose soul has lodged like a beggar
in a place of wild unrest; (10)
I, whose every step
has been amid ruin and rout (11)—
on what strength of mine own may I count
when Corruption's snares are laid,
and the nets of Wickedness spread,
when far and wide on the waters
Frowardness sets her drags, (12)
when the shafts of Corruption fly (13)
with none to turn them back,
when they are hurled apace
with no hope of escape;
when the hour of judgment strikes, (*)
when the lot of God's anger is cast
upon the abandoned,
when His fury is poured forth (14) upon dissemblers, (15)
when the final doom of His rage
falls on all worthless things;
---[*] Heb. 'When the line falls upon judgment'; cf. Isa. 28.27.
---when the torrents of Death do swirl, (16)
and there is none escape; when the rivers of Belial (17)
burst their high banks
—rivers that are like fire devouring all ...,
rivers whose runnels destroy
{30} green tree and dry tree alike, (18)
rivers that are like fire
which sweeps with flaming sparks
devouring all that drink their waters
—a fire which consumes
all foundations of clay,
every solid bedrock;
when the foundations of the mountains
become a raging blaze, (19)
when granite roots are turned
to streams of pitch, (20)
when the flame devours
down to the great abyss, (21)
when the floods of Belial burst forth
unto hell itself;
when the depths of the abyss are in turmoil,
cast up mire in abundance, (22)
when the earth cries out in anguish
for the havoc wrought in the world,
when all its depths are aquake,
and all that is on it quails
and quivers in [mighty] havoc;
when with His mighty roar
God thunders forth, (23)
and His holy welkin (24) trembles
as His glorious truth is revealed,
{35} and the hosts of heaven give forth their voice,
and the world's foundations rock and reel;
when warfare waged by the soldiers of heaven
sweeps through the world (25)
and turns not back until final doom (26)
—warfare the like of which
has never been?
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7 - III, 37-IV, 4
[Fragment]
I give thanks unto Thee, O Lord,
for Thou hast been unto me a strong wall (1)
against all that would destroy me
and all that would [traduce me.]
Thou dost shelter me from the disasters
of a turbulent time,
[ ] that it come not [ ]
.....
(iv,3) [Thou hast set] my foot upon a rock (2)
[I will walk] the age-old way
and the paths which Thou hast chosen.
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8 - IV, 5-V, 5
{5} I give thanks unto Thee, O Lord,
for Thou hast illumined my face
with the light of Thy covenant
[Day by day] I seek Thee,
and ever Thou shinest upon me
bright as the perfect dawn. (1)
But as for them—
they have [dealt treacherously] with Thee,
have made smooth their words. (2)
Garblers of truth are [they all,]
witlessly stumbling along. (3)
They [have turned] all their deeds to folly;
they have become abhorrent unto themselves.
Though Thou show Thy power through me,
they regard me not,
but thrust me forth from my land
like a sparrow from its nest;
all my friends and familiars
are thrust away from me,
and deem me a broken pot. (4)
Preachers of lies are they,
{10} prophets of deceit.
They have plotted mischief against me,
to make Thy people exchange for smooth words
Thy teaching which Thou hast engraven on my heart.
They have kept the draught of knowledge
from them that are athirst,
and given them in their thirst
vinegar to drink, (5)
to feast their eyes upon them
as they wander astray, (6)
make sport of them as they falter
and are caught in their snares.
But Thou, O God, wilt spurn
all the schemes of Belial.
Thy plan it is will prevail, (7)
and the thought of Thy heart endure for ever.
Crafty men are they; (8)
they think base thoughts,
seek Thee with heart divided,
stand not firm in Thy truth.
In their every thought is a root
which blossoms to wormwood and gall. (9)
{15} In the stubbornness of their hearts
they wander astray
and go seeking Thee through idols.
They make their iniquity
a stumbling-block before them, (10)
and come to inquire of Thee
from the mouths of lying prophets,
men by error seduced.
Then, with stammering tongue
and with alien lips (11)
they speak unto Thy people,
seeking guilefully
to turn their deeds to delusion.
They have [paid no heed to] Thy teaching,
nor given ear to Thy word,
but have said of the vision of knowledge,
'It is not sure',
and of the way Thou desirest,
There is no such thing'.
But Thou, O God, wilt give them their answer,
judging them in Thy power
for all their idolatrous acts
and their manifold transgressions,
to the end that they shall be caught
in their own designs (12)
who have turned away from Thy covenant
{20} Thou wilt sentence all men of deceit
to be cut off, (13)
and all the prophets of error
will be found no more.
For in all Thou doest there is no delusion,
and in all Thou thinkest no deceit
And they that are pleasing to Thee
shall stand in Thy presence for ever,
and they that walk in the way Thou desirest
rest firm for all time.
So, for mine own part,
because I have clung unto Thee,
I shall yet arise and stand upright (14)
against them that revile me;
and my hand shall yet be upon all
that hold me in contempt.
Though Thou show Thy power through me,
they regard me not
Howbeit, Thou in Thy might
hast shed upon me the Perfect Light,
and bedaubed not their faces with shame (15)
that have let themselves be found
when that I sought them out;
who, in a common accord,
have pledged themselves to Thee.
They that walked in the way Thou desirest
have hearkened unto me
and rallied to Thy cause
{25} in the legion of the saints. (16)
And Thou wilt vindicate them
and plainly show forth the truth; (17)
and suffer them not to stray
at the hand of froward men,
what tune these plot against them.
Thou wilt yet cause Thy people
to stand in awe of them.
But for them that transgress Thy word
Thou shalt ordain dispersal
among all the peoples on earth,
passing sentence on them
that they be cut off.
Through me hast Thou illumined
the faces of full many,
and countless be the times
Thou hast shown Thy power through me.
For Thou hast made known unto me
Thy deep, mysterious things,
hast shared Thy secret with me
and so shown forth Thy power;
and before the eyes of full many
this token stands revealed,
that Thy glory may be shown forth,
and all living know of Thy power.
Yet, never could flesh alone
attain unto this,
nor that which is molded of clay
do wonders so great
{30} —steeped in sin from the womb
and in guilt of perfidy unto old age.
Verily I know
that righteousness lies not with man,
nor perfection of conduct with mortals.
Only with God On High
are all works of righteousness;
and ne'er can the way of man
be stablished save by the spirit
which God has fashioned for him,
to bring unto perfection
the life of mortal man;
that all His works may know
how mighty is His power,
how plenteous His love
to all who do His will.
When I called to mind
all my guilty deeds
and the perfidy of my sires
—when wicked men
opposed Thy covenant,
{35} and froward men Thy word-
trembling seized hold on me and quaking,
all my bones were a-quiver;
my heart became like wax
melting before a fire,
my knees were like to water (18)
pouring over a steep; (19)
and I said: 'Because of my transgressions
I have been abandoned,
that Thy covenant holds not with me'.
But then, when I remembered
the strength of Thy hand
and Thy multitudinous mercies,
I rose again and stood upright,
and my spirit was fortified
to stand against affliction;
for I was stayed by Thy grace.
Thou in Thy plenteous compassion
dost wipe out sin, (20)
and with Thy righteousness
purge away man's guilt
Man alone cannot do
as Thou hast done;
for Thou it is didst create
both the righteous and the wicked.
And I said: Through Thy covenant
I shall go strengthened for ever,
.....
[and on Thy gra]ce [be stayed.]
{40} For Thou Thyself art truth,
and all Thy works are righteousness'.
.....
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9 - V, 5-19
{5} I give thanks unto Thee, O Lord,
for Thou hast not forsaken me
though I dwell as a sojourner
among an alien people, (1)
[nor cast me forth from Thy sight,]
[nor] judged me according to my guilt,
nor abandoned me to my lusts;
but hast rescued my life from the pit
Though Thou hast set [my soul] amid lions (2)
prompt to spring on the guilty
—fearful lions that break men's bones,
mighty lions that drink their blood—
and though Thou hast placed me full oft
in ready reach of their haul
who spread their nets for the froward
like fishers upon the waters,
or seek, like hunters, to trap them, (3)
yet, when Thou hast placed me there,
Thou hast dealt justly with me. (4)
For Thou hast set firm in my heart
Thy deep, deep truth;
and to them that seek after that truth
Thou bindest Thyself in pledge.
So hast Thou put a lock
upon the mouths of those lions,
{10} whose teeth are like a sword, (5)
whose fangs like a sharp spear, (6)
<whose breath> is the venom of serpents. (7)
Though ever they seek to raven,
and though ever they lie in wait,
they have opened not their jaws against me.
Thou hast sheltered me, O my God,
in the face of all mankind,
and hidden Thy teaching [within me],
until it be shown unto me
that the hour of Thy triumph is come. (8)
In all the distress of my soul
Thou hast not abandoned me.
In the bitterness of my spirit
Thou hast heard my cry,
and in my sighing discerned
the song of my pain.
When I have found myself
in a very den of lions, (9)
whetting their tongues like a sword, (10)
Thou hast rescued me in my plight
Yea, O my God, Thou hast locked their teeth
lest they rend a hapless man apart;
and Thou hast drawn back their tongue
{15} like a sword into its sheath, (11)
lest it [do hurt] to Thy servant
Moreover, to show forth Thy power
in the sight of all men,
Thou hast singled me out, a hapless wretch,
and worked a wonder in me,
passing me [like gold] through a furn[ace,]
even through the action of fire,
and like silver that is refined
in the crucible of the smith,
to come forth sevenfold pure. (12)
The wicked rush wildly upon me
to [grasp] me in their vice,
and they crush my spirit all day,
but Thou, O my God, dost turn the storm to a calm. (13)
From the jaws of very lions
Thou hast snatched a poor lost soul,
[when it was nigh] to be rent
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10 - V, 20-VI, 35
{20} Blessed art Thou, O Lord,
for Thou hast never abandoned the orphan
neither despised the poor.
[Unbounded is] Thy power,
and Thy glory hath no measure.
Angels of wondrous strength
minister unto Thee,
and [they walk] at the side of the meek
and of them that are eager for right-doing, (1)
and of all the lost and lorn
that stand in need of mercy,
lifting them out of the slough (2)
when that their feet are mired. (3)
So, for mine own part,
to them that were once my [familiars]
I am become [a reproach],
an object of strife and discord (4)
unto my friends;
an occasion of fury and anger
unto my fellows;
of murmuring and complaint
to all mine acquaintances.
[All] that ate of my bread (5)
have lifted their heels against me; (6)
all that shared my board
have mouthed distortions about me; (7)
and they with whom I [consorted]
have turned their backs upon me
and defamed me up and down.
{25} By reason of the secret
which Thou hast hidden within me
they have spread slander against me
to men that were bent on mischief.
Because they have he[mmed in my w]ay (8)
and because they are laden with guilt,
Thou hast (perforce) kept hidden (from them)
the fount of understanding
and the secret of truth,
while they—they go on contriving
the mischief of their hearts,
opening their shameless [mouths,]
unleashing their lying tongues
which are like the venom of adders (9)
fitfully spurting forth; (10)
like reptiles they shoot forth their his[sing]
—vipers that cannot be charmed. (11)
It becomes like a constant pain, (12)
a fretting wound (13)
in the body of Thy servant,
causing his spirit to droop,
wearing down his strength, (14)
until he cannot withstand.
They have o'ertaken me between the straits, (15)
and I have no escape.
.....
{30} They have thundered abuse
of me to the tune of the harp,
and in jingles chorused their jeers.
Confusion and panic beset me, (16)
horrendous anguish (17) and pain,
like to the throes of travail.
My heart is distraught within me;
I clothe me in mourning garb; (18)
my tongue cleaves to the roof of my mouth. (19)
[In] their hearts they rev[ile me,]
and openly vented their spleen.
The light of my face is turned to darkness,
my radiance to gl[oom].
Thou, O my God,
hast enlarged my heart,
but ever they seek to constrict it
They have hedged me about with thick darkness.
I eat my bread amid sighs,
and my drink is mingled with tears (20)
which have none end.
Mine eyes are dimmed with anguish, (21)
and with all that beclouds the daylight (22)
my soul is over [cast.]
Sorrow and sighing are all about me,
{35} and the pall of shame o'er my face.
The very bre[ad] that I eat
seems to be quarreling with me,
the very drink that I drink
to be at odds with me.
They purpose to trammel my spirit,
to wear down all my strength
with blasphemous mystic lore,
converting the works of God
into that which they guiltily imagine.
I am bound with unbreakable cords,
with fetters that cannot be sundered.
A strong wall [is upreared against me;]
bars of iron [restrain me]
and doors of brass. (23)
.....
Over my soul swirl the torrents of hell. (24)
.....
(vi,2) My heart [is sore distraught]
because of their obloquy
which they have heaped upon me.
.....
[Ruin encompasses me,]
disaster which knows no bound,
destruction which hath no [end.]
.....
[Howbeit, O my God,]
Thou hast opened mine ear withal
to the lessons which they impart
who reprove with justice, (25)
[and hast thereby delivered me]
{5} from company with the vain
from fellowship with crime
and hast brought me into communion
[with Thy holy truth],
[purging my soul of] guilt
So am I come to know
that in [Thy] lovingkindness]
lies hope for them that repent
and for them that abandon sin,
[and confidence for him]
who walks in the way of Thy heart
without perversity.
Therefore, though peoples roar,
though kingdoms rage, (26)
when that they gather together,
I shall go comforted.
I shall [not] be dismayed,
knowing that in a space
Thou wilt raise a reviving for Thy people
and grant to Thine inheritance a remnant, (27)
and refine them, to purge them of guilt
Whenas in all their deeds
they have done as Thy truth (†) enjoined,
Thou wilt judge them with lovingkindness,
with plenteous compassion
and abundance of forgiveness,
guiding them according to Thy word,
{10} stablishing them by Thy counsel, (‡)
by Thine unswerving truth.
---[†] I e., the Scriptures.
[‡] Or, 'in Thy council'.
---Thou hast acted for Thyself and for Thy glory,
that the Law may come to [fruition,]
and hast [sent] among mankind
men that be schooled in Thy counsel
to tell forth Thy wonders through the ages,
world without end,
to [rehea]rse Thy deeds of power
without surcease,
that all nations may know Thy truth,
and all peoples Thy glory.
All them that follow Thy counsel
hast Thou brought into [com]munion with Thee,
and hast given them common estate
with the Angels of Thy Presence. (28)
There stands no intermediary among them
to appr[oach Thee in their behalf
and] bring them back Thy word (29)
filtered through his mind (?); (30)
for they themselves are answered
from out of Thy glorious mouth.
They are Thy courtiers, (§)
sharing the high estate
of [all the heavenly beings.]
---[§] Heb. 'princes'. The word is commonly used in post-Biblical Hebrew to denote angels.
---{15} [For these hast Thou planted a tree]
which blooms with flowers unfading,
whose boughs put forth thick leaves,
which stands firm-planted for ever,
and gives shade to all [ ];
[whose branches tower] to hea[ven],
whose roots sink down to the abyss. (31)
All the rivers of Eden
[water] its boughs; (32)
it thrives beyond [all bounds],
[burgeons beyond all] measure.
[Its branches stretch] endless across the world,
[and its roots go down] to the nethermost depths.
Moreover, there shall well forth for them
a fountain of light
a perpetual spring unfailing.
Howbeit, in its [fiery] sparks
all [infamous] men shall be burned;
it shall be as a flame devouring the guilty,
until they are destroyed.
These men who were once my comrades,
pledged to the selfsame task
of bearing witness to Thee,
have let themselves be seduced
by garbl[ers of truth],
[that they are concerned no more]
with working for righteousness.
{20} Thou hadst given them commandments, O God,
that they might have profit of their lives
by walking Thy ho[ly way,]
whereon the uncircumcised and unclean
and profane may not pass. (33)
But they veered from the way of Thy heart
and ensnared themselves in their lusts.
Belial has been counseling their hearts (34)
and, through their wicked devisings,
they have been wallowing in guilt.
Wherefore on their account
I was as a sailor in a ship
when the seas do froth and foam.
All the breakers thereof
kept pounding against me,
and the whirlwind (35) blew about me,
[and there was no] moment of calm
wherein to catch my breath,
neither could I steer
a course upon the waters.
The deeps echoed my groaning,
and I [came near] to the gates of death. (36)
But now I am as one
{25} that hath reached a fortified city,
found refuge behind a high wall
until deliverance come.
For I have stayed myself on Thy truth, O my God
knowing full well
that Thou foundest Thy structure on a rock,
that Righteousness is the line
by which Thou layest its bricks,
that Justice is the gauge
Thou usest to set its footing,
that of solid stone (37) is its wall,
unshakeable;
that all who repair unto it
shall never be moved,
for there shall no stranger invade it
Its doors are a sheet of protection
which none may force,
and its bars are strong bars
which cannot be broken.
No armed band can storm it,
neither all the war hosts of wickedness together.
But anon, in the Moment of Judgment,
the sword of God will be swift
and all who acknowledge His truth
will rouse themselves to [do battle]
{30} [against the forces of] wickedness,
and all the sons of guilt
will be no more.
The Warrior (38) will bend his bow,
and lift the siege for ever,
and open the gates everlasting
to bring forth His weapons of war;
and His legions shall go marching
from end to [end of the earth,]
[and there shall be no es]cape
for the guilty impulse of men.
They shall trample it to destruction,
that naught re [main thereof.]
[There shall be no] hope for it
in [weapons] never so many,
neither any escape
for all that fight in its cause.
For the [victory] shall
belong unto God on High,
.....
and though they that lie in the dust
will have raised their flag, (39)
and though this worm which is man (40)
will have lifted up his banner
to do [battle against the truth,]
[yet shall they be] cut off
{35} when battle is joined with the presumptuous;
and he that sought to bring
the scourge of a flood overflowing (41)
will never reach that stronghold.
.....
=======
10a - VII, 1-5
Lo, I am stricken dumb,
[for naught comes out of men's mouths
but] swearing [and lying].
My arm is wrenched from its socket; (1)
my foot is sunken in mire;
mine eyes are dimmed (2) from looking on evil;
mine ears are deafened from hearing of bloodshed;
my heart is numbed with thinking on evil;
for wheresoever men show
the temper of their being,
there is the spirit of baseness.
The structure of my being
is rocked to its very foundation;
my bones are out of joint; (3)
mine inwards heave like a ship
{5} when the searing eastwind soughs; (4)
my heart is sore distraught.
In the havoc of their transgression
a whirlwind swallows me up.
=======
11 - VII, 6-25
I give thanks unto Thee, O Lord,
for by Thine own strength hast Thou stayed me,
and hast wafted o'er me Thy holy spirit
that I cannot be moved.
Thou hast braced me for all the battles
that Wickedness wages against me,
and hast let not the havoc dismay me
to break faith with Thee.
Thou hast made me like a strong tower
upon a lofty wall, (1)
founded upon a rock, (2)
reared on eternal foundations,
whose walls are a proven bulwark
that cannot be shaken
{10} —a tower which Thou hast provided, O my God,
for (this) holy community
—these men that rise as on wings. (3)
[Thou hast brought me into] Thy covenant
Words flow free on my tongue,
as it were trained by Thee, (4)
while the Spirit of Havoc stays speechless,
and the reprobate ope not their mouth.
Through me Thou hast kept Thy pledge:
'False lips shall be stricken dumb'. (**)
---[**] Ps. 31.18.
---All them that challenge me
Thou makest to stand condemned,
distinguishing through me
the right from the wrong.
Thou knowest the impulse of every act,
and discernest the purport of every speech,
yet, by Thy guidance (††) and truth
Thou hast directed my heart,
to set my steps straight forward
on paths of righteousness,
and walk where Thy Presence is,
---[††] Heb. Torah.
---{15} within bounds of [holiness],
on roads of infinite glory and peace,
ending all [waywardness] for ever.
Thou knowest also the nature
of this Thy servant,
how that I have not relied
[upon the things of the world,]
lifting [my heart] in pride,
vaunting my strength.
No refuge have I in flesh,
nor righteousness [in my soul,]
that I may be saved from the snare
except by Thy pardon.
On [Thy mercy alone] I rely,
and for Thy grace I hope,
to bring [what I have plan]ted to flower,
to make the shoot to grow,
to find cause for vaunting strength,
for [lifting heart.]
And Thou, O God of mercy,
hast in Thy bounty given me place
{20} among those to whom Thou art pledged; (5)
and unto Thy truth will I cling.
Thou hast [shown me Thy grace] and set me
as a father to them Thou holdest dear, (6)
and as a nurse unto them
whom Thou hast made exemplars of men. (7)
They open their mouths for my words,
like sucklings [at the breast,]
and like as a babe that plays
on the bosom of its nurse.
Thou hast raised high my horn (8)
over all that revile me,
and all who wage battle against me
are rou[ted without remnant,]
and all that contend with me
are as chaff before the wind; (9)
and all impiety bows to my sway.
For Thou, O my God, hast holpen my soul
and raised high my horn.
I am lit with a light sevenfold,
with that same [lustre] of glory
which Thou didst create for Thyself. (10)
{25} For Thou art unto me as a light eternal (11)
guiding my feet upon [the way.]
=======
12 - VII, 26-33
I give [thanks unto Thee, O Lord,]
for Thou hast given me insight into Thy truth
and knowledge of Thy wondrous secrets.
In lovingkindness to [lowly] man,
in abundance of mercy to wayward hearts,
who is like Thee among the gods, O Lord, (1)
and what truth is like Thine?
Who can prove righteous in Thy sight
when Thou bringest him unto judgment?
Not even a spirit can answer Thy charge,
and none can withstand Thy wrath.
Yet, all that are children of Thy truth
{30} Thou bringest before Thee with forgiveness,
[clean] sing them of their transgressions
through Thine abundant goodness,
and, through Thy plenteous mercies,
causing them to stand in Thy presence for ever.
For Thou art a God everlasting,
and all Thy ways hold firm for all time; (2)
and there is none else beside Thee.
But what is man—vain, empty man,
that he should understand Thy great wondrous works?
=======
13 - VII, 34-VIII, 3
[I give thanks] unto Thee, O Lord,
for Thou hast cast not my lot in the congregation of the false,
nor set my portion in the company of dissemblers.
{35} Behold, in Thy mercy [I trust],
in Thy pardon [confide],
and on Thine abundant mercies [I lean],
when all [just] judgments are passed upon me.
[For Thou dost tend me as a mother tendeth] her babe,
and [like a child] on the bosom of [its nurse dost Thou sustain me].
.....
Thy justice holdeth firm for ever,
for [Thou dost] not [abandon them that seek Thee]. (1)
=======
14 - VIII,4-36
I give thanks unto Thee, O Lord,
because, in a dry place, thou hast set me beside a fountain;
in an arid land, beside a spring; (1)
{5} in a de[sert], beside an oasis;
like one of those evergreen treesfir or pine or cypressplanted together to Thy glory, (2)
which, hidden 'mid other treestrees that stand beside waterare fed from a secret spring,
and which put forth blossom unfading
upon an eternal trunk,
striking firm root ere they burgeon,
spreading their roots to the stream; (3)
a tree whose stem is exposed to living waters,
and whose stock lies beside a perpetual fount;
a tree on whose flowering leaves
all the beasts of the woodland can feed;
whose roots are so widespread
that all wayfarers cannot but tread them; (4)
upon whose dangling boughs
there is room for every bird. (5)
All those other trees—
those trees that stand beside waterkeep railing against it, (6)
because they grow entangled in their plantations, (7)
{10} and can send not their roots to the stream,
while this one,
which puts forth the shoot of Holiness upon the stock
of Truth,
keeps its secret hidden, unknown,
sealed and unsuspected.
Moreover, O God, Thou has hedged in its fruit
by the mystic power of stalwart angels, (8)
by holy spirits,
and by a flaming sword turning this way and that; (9)
that [the wicked] may not [drink]
from the Fountain of Life
nor, like those evergreens,
imbibe the waters of Holiness; (10)
that he never may bring his fruit to blossom
through the [sho]wers of heaven, (11)
because, though indeed he has seen it,
he has never sensed what it was, (12)
nor, though he has had notion thereof, (13)
has he ever believed in the Fountain of Life,
but, instead, keeps la[ying violent hands]
on what is really a flower unfading.
Behold, I was (aforetime)
like lands which torrents have ravaged, (14)
{15} casting their silt upon me, (15)
but Thou, O my God, hast, as it were, put in my mouth
early and latter rain
(falling) all [the year round],
an outpouring of living waters,
which never fail,
opening the heavens without surcease, (16)
so that (those waters) are become
like a river in flood, (17)
spilling over its banks, (18)
and like seas un[fathomable]
which, long hidden in secret,
suddenly burst forth [ ], (19)
and quicken [every tree],
green and dry alike, (20)
and serve as a pool for wild beasts.
The tr[ees of the wicked shall fall]
like lead in mighty waters, (21)
{20} and a fire [shall break out], and they shall wither,
and the planting of that fruit [prove in vain].
[But the trees of the righteous]
shall [bloom fa]ir for ever,
a glorious richness, a flower of beauty.
At my hands hast Thou opened a Wellspring for them,
yielding runnels of water,
that their roots may be firmly set
and their trees planted in line of the sun, (22)
in light [unfailing;]
that their [boughs] may yield glorious foliage.
When I apply my hand
to dig the furrows thereof, (23)
its roots strike even on granite,
its stocks are firm-grounded in the earth, (24)
and in the time of heat it secures protection.
But if I relax my hand,
it becomes like a [heath in the desert,] (25)
and its stocks like nettles in a salt-marsh,
{25} and out of its furrows grow thorns and thistles; (26)
[it turns] to briars and brambles, (27)
and its [ ] change to stinking weeds, (28)
its leaves fade before the heat;
it is not exposed to water.
It suffers mishap and disease
and becomes a [target] for all manner of blight.
Then I become like a man
abandoned in [a desert];
no refuge have I,
for then whatever I planted
blossoms but into wormwood.
Constant is my pain, (29)
and cannot be stayed.
[My soul is disqui]eted, (30)
like them that go down to Sheol;
my spirit sinks low (31) among the dead.
My life has as good as reached the Pit, (32)
and my soul waxes faint (33) day and night without rest
{30} There bursts forth, as it were a blazing fire
held in my [bones,] (34)
the flame whereof devours unto the nethermost seas,
exhausting my strength every moment,
consuming my flesh every minute.
Disasters hover about me,
and my soul is utterly bowed down. (35)
For all my strength has ceased from my body,
and my heart is poured out like water,
and my flesh melts like wax,
and the strength of my loins is turned to confusion,
and my arm is wrenched from the shoulder. (36)
I [cannot] move my hand,
and my [foot] is caught in a shackle,
and my knees dissolve like water.
I can take neither pace nor step;
[heaviness] replaces my fleetness of foot;
{35} [my steps] are trammeled.
Once Thou didst put into my mouth
a powerful tongue,
but now it is taken away.
I cannot lift my voice
in any articulate [speech]
to revive the spirit of the stumbling
or encourage the faint with a word. (37)
Lips which were once so fluent (38)
are now stricken dumb.
.....
=======
15 - IX, 2-X, 12
.....
Though [mine eye] sleep [not] at night,
[though Belial assail me] without mercy,
though in anger He stir up His fury (1)
[and pursue me] unto destruction;
though the breakers of death swirl around me, (2)
though Sheol (‡‡) be upon my couch;
though my bed take up a lament, (3)
and [my couch] a cry of anguish;
---[‡‡] Ie., the netherworld.
---{5} though mine eye smart as through the smoke of an oven, (4)
though my tears flow like rivers; (5)
though mine eyes fail, (6) and I have no rest;
though [my strength] stand afar off,
and my life be put aside;
though I go from rout to ruin, (7)
from pain to plague,
from pangs to throes.
Yet will I muse on Thy wonders;
for Thou, in Thy lovingkindness,
hast at no time cast me off.
My soul will delight every moment
in the abundance of Thy mercies,
and I shall have wherewith to reply
to him that would confound me,
and to gainsay him that would abase me.
I shall refute his case,
and vindicate Thy judgment.
{10} For I have come to know Thy truth;
I accept Thy judgments upon me,
and am content with my afflictions.
I have learned to put hope in Thy mercy;
for Thou hast placed in the mouth of Thy servant
the power to win Thy grace, (8)
and hast not mortally rebuked him,
neither renounced his wellbeing,
neither frustrated his hope.
Rather hast Thou braced his spirit
to withstand affliction.
Thou it is emplanted (§§) my spirit,
and Thou knowest its every intent;
and so in my straitness
Thou hast given me reassurance.
---[§§] Heb. 'founded'.
---I delight in the promise of pardon,
and repent my former transgression;
for I know that in Thy mercy lies hope,
and confidence in Thine abundant power.
{15} For none can prove himself righteous
when Thou bringest him unto judgment,
neither can [any prevail]
when Thou enterest suit against him.
Though man may prove more righteous than man,
though a human may prove wiser than [a beast,]
though flesh may rank higher than dumb [clay,] (*)
---(*) Literally, 'than that which is molded out of clay'.
---though one spirit may prove mightier than another,
yet naught can match [Thy power] in strength.
Thy glory hath no equal,
Thy wisdom no measure,
Thy tr[uth no bound;]
and all that have forfeited them
[are doomed to perdition.]
Behold, for my own part,
through Thee have I prospered my way,]
[through Thee maintained] my stand;
for Thou hast not [abandoned me]
[unto them that se]ek my hurt.
{20} Whenever they plot against me,
Thou [savest me from their grasp,]
and if they are bent to disgrace me,
Thou in Thy mer[cy dost confound] them.
If mine enemy vaunt himself against me,
it proves to his own undoing; (†)
and they that battle against me
[are overwhelmed] with disgrace,
and shame overtakes them that revile me.
---[†] Literally, 'stumbling'.
---For at [every] time, O my God,
Thou dost fight my fight. (9)
Though now, in Thine inscrutable wisdom, Thou rebuke me,
yet art Thou but hiding the truth until [its time]
and [Thy glory] until its season.
Then will Thy rebuking of me
be turned into gladness and joy;
{25} my plague shall be turned to perpetual health,
the scorn of my foes to a diadem of glory, (10)
my halting steps to enduring strength.
Lo, through Thy Name and through Thy glory
light has shone forth upon me.
Thou hast brought me light out of darkness,
hast given me [health] in place of plague, (11)
wondrous strength in place of stumbling,
and abiding enlargement for the straitness of my soul.
[Thou art] my refuge and my tower,
my rock of retreat and my stronghold;
in Thee do I take refuge from all that [pursue me,]
[and Thou art] mine escape evermore.
Or ever my father begat me,
{30} Thou didst know me;
from the womb of my mother Thou didst shower me
with Thy grace (‡)
and from the breasts of her that conceived me
Thy mercies have been shed upon me.
---[‡] The Hebrew word can also mean Thou didst wean me'. There is thus a double-entetidre.
---On the bosom of my nurse [Thou didst sustain me,]
and from my youth up
Thou hast enlightened me with understanding of Thy judgments,
held me firm by Thy truth,
and caused me to delight in Thy holy spirit:
and even unto this day
Thou dost stay my goings.
Though Thy just rebuke be with my body,
yet will my soul be saved
by Thy watch over my wellbeing.
With every step I take
Thine abundant forgiveness enfolds me,
and when Thou arraignest me,
Thy mercies overwhelm me.
Even unto old age
Thou wilt yet sustain me.
{35} For my father hath renounced me,
and my mother hath abandoned me to Thee; (12)
yet Thou art a father to all that [know] Thy truth,
and Thou wilt rejoice over them
like a mother who pitieth her babe,
and Thou wilt feed all Thy works
as a nurse feeds her charge at the bosom. (13)
.....
[Who can fathom the des]igns of Thy heart?
Apart from Thee hath nothing existed,
and without Thy will will nothing be;
yet can none understand Thy wis[dom]
nor gaze upon Thy [sec]rets.
What is man, mere earth,
kneaded out of [clay,]
destined to return unto the dust, (14)
that Thou shouldst give him insight into such wonders
and make him privy to things divine?
(x,5) As for me,
I am but dust and ashes.
What can I devise except Thou hast desired it?
And what can I think apart from Thy will?
And how be strong except Thou hast stayed me,
or use my mind, (15) except Thou hast created it?
How speak except Thou hast opened my mouth?
How reply except Thou hast given me sense?
Lo, Thou art the Prince of the angels,
and the King of all that are in glory,
and the Lord of every spirit,
and the Ruler of every deed.
Without thee nothing is wrought,
and without Thy will can nothing be known. (16)
None there is beside Thee,
{10} and none to share Thy might,
and none to match Thy glory,
and Thy power is beyond price.
Which among all Thy great wondrous works
has power to stand before Thy glory?
How much less, then, can he who returns to his dust attain to [such power.]
Only for Thine own glory hast Thou done all these things.
=======
16 - X, 14-XI, 2
---Blessed art Thou, O Lord,
Thou God of compassion and mercy,
for giving me knowledge [of Thy truth]
{15} and [insight] to [tell forth] Thy wonders,
unhushed day and night.
.....
Because I have come to rely
on that truth of Thine,
[I will put my trust] in Thy mercy,
[my hope] in Thy great goodness
[and in Thine abundant] compassion.
.....
Except Thou [keep hold,] there is no standing;
and except [Thou let go, no falling];
except Thou rebuke, no stumbling;
no affliction, but Thou hast foreknown it;
[no healing but] by Thy [will].
{20} Now that I know [Thy tru]th,
that I clearly behold Thy glory,
now that I understand
[the mysteries of Thy ways],
[I now will put my trust]
in the moving (§) of Thy compassion,
[my hope] in Thine acts of forgiveness.
---[§] Or, abundance.
---The high and mighty draw their strength
from abundance of (worldly) delights;
in profusion of corn and wine and oil
[they find their joy],
{25} and pride themselves in goods and possessions. (1)
Cho[osing] mortal delights
and thinking to glut themselves
on earthly things,
[they picture themselves] as trees
green beside running streams, (2)
which cannot but put forth leaves
and branches full many. (3)
But the joy and the bliss which Thou hast given
to these lowly servants of Thine (4)
is a joy and a bliss unending,
and only by the measure of his knowledge
does one outrank another. (5)
So, in (this) knowledge of Thy truth
hast Thou bestowed on me,
a lowly servant of Thine,
a rich inheritance;
and by virtue of that knowledge
he now is come to ho [nor]. (6)
{30} The soul of (this) Thy servant
abhors all wealth and gain;
in abundance of (worldly) delights
his heart has no pleasure. (7)
Nay, in Thy covenant
does my heart rejoice,
and Thy truth it is that regales my soul.
Wherefore, with heart exposed
to a spring unfailing,
drawing my strength from on high, (8)
I shall blossom like a lily, (9)
[while all the fruit of the wicked
shall be but travail] and woe;
they shall wither like a flower before [the heat].
{35} Howbeit, when I hear tell
how Thou wilt yet come to judgment
along with Thy stalwart angels, (10)
how Thou wilt yet enter suit
in company with Thy host of Holy Beings, (11)
my heart is sorely racked,
my loins are all a-quake,
my groans reach down to the nethermost depths
and penetrate withal
into the chambers of Hell; (12)
and I am full stricken with terror.
For [judgment Thou surely wilt wr]eak
[over the whole wide earth],
justice on all that Thou hast made;
and [Thy] righteousness] wilt Thou evince
over the hordes of Belial. (13)
[My soul is com]moved with ter[ror];
[tr]ouble [is not hidden] from mine eyes; (14)
Gri[ef and sorrow o'erwhelm]
the musing of my heart.
=======
17 - XI, 3-14
---I give thanks unto Thee, O my God,
for Thou hast wrought a wonder with dust
and hast shown forth Thy power
in that which is molded of clay.
For Thou hast made me to know Thy deep, deep truth,
and to divine Thy wondrous works,
and hast put in my mouth the power to praise,
and psalmody on my tongue,
{5} and hast given me lips unmarred (1)
and readiness of song,
that I may sing of Thy lovingkindness
and rehearse Thy might all the day
and continually bless Thy name.
I will show forth Thy glory
in the midst of the sons of men,
and in Thine abundant goodness
my soul will delight.
For I know that Thy mouth is truth,
and in Thy hand is bounty,
and in Thy thought all knowledge,
and in Thy power all might,
and that all glory is with Thee.
In Thine anger come all judgments of affliction,
but in Thy goodness pardon abounding;
and Thy mercies are shed upon all
who do Thy will.
For Thou hast made them to know Thy deep, deep truth
{10} and divine Thine inscrutable wonders;
and, for Thy glory's sake,
Thou hast granted it unto man
to be purged of transgression,
that he may hallow himself unto Thee
and be free from all taint of filth
and all guilt of perfidy,
to be one with them that possess Thy truth
and to share the lot of Thy Holy Beings,
to the end that this worm which is man (2)
may be lifted out of the dust
to the height of eternal things,
and rise from a spirit perverse
to an holy understanding,
and stand in one company before Thee
with the host everlasting and the spirits of knowledge
and the choir invisible, (3)
to be for ever renewed
with all things that are. (4)
=======
18 - XI, 15-27
---{15} I give thanks unto Thee, O my God,
I extol Thee, O my Rock, (1)
and because Thou hast wrought wonders with me
[I bless Thy name.]
For Thou hast made me to know Thy deep, deep truth;
Thy wonders hast Thou revealed unto me,
and I have beholden [Thy truth]
[and witnessed Thy] deeds of loving kindness.
So am I come to know
that though Thou art ever just,
yet in Thy loving kindness
lies salivation for men],
and that without Thy mercy
[theirs is but doo]m and perdition.
{20} Lo, for mine own part,
when I mark the nature of man,
how he ever reverts [to perversity and wrongdoing],
to sin and anguish of guilt,
a fountain of bitter mourning
wells up within me;
[my tears flow like rivers], (2)
and sorrow is not hidden from mine eyes. (3)
These things go to my heart
and touch me to the bone,
that I raise a bitter lament
and make doleful moan and groan,
and keep plying my harp in mournful dirge
and bitter lamentation,
till wrongdoing be brought to an end,
and men have no more to suffer
punishing plague and stroke.
But when that time shall come,
then shall I play my harp
with music of salvation,
and my lyre to tune of joy;
I shall ply the pipe and flute
in praise without cease.
Though none there be among all Thy works
can rehearse the full tale of Thy [wonders],
yet then, in the mouths of them all
shall Thy name be praised;
{25} then with mouth of [ ]
they shall go blessing Thee for ever,
and along with the [Holy Being]s
chorus their song of joy. (4)
For sorrow and sighing shall be no more; (5)
wrongdoing shall be [at an end],
and Thy truth shall burst forth as the dayspring
in never-ending glory
and peace perpetual.
=======
19 - XI, 27-XII, 35
---Blessed art Thou, [O Lord,]
Who hast given unto man the insight of knowledge,
to understand Thy wonders,
[discern Thy truth,]
tell forth Thine abundant mercies.
Blessed art Thou, O God of compassion and grace,
for the greatness of [Thy] power,
the abundance of Thy truth,
the profusion of Thy mercies
{30} over all Thy works.
Rejoice the soul of Thy servant in Thy truth,
and in Thy righteousness make me clean,
even as when [aforetime] I waited on Thy bounty
and hoped on Thy mercies,
and Thou didst bring release to my travail, (1)
and even as when I leaned on Thy compassion,
and Thou didst comfort me in my sorrow.
Blessed art Thou, O Lord,
for Thou it is hast wrought these things,
and placed in the mouth of Thy servant
[power to pray] and to win Thy grace,
and all readiness of tongue;
and hast prepared for me the guerdon of [righteousness]
[and the reward of devotion],
{35} that I may attain to [stand in Thy presence].
.....
[ ] my soul will exult (2)
[because it hath come to abide in Thy presence]
[and to dwell] secure in [Thy] ho[ly] abode,
in calm and quietude.
[In] my tent [I will chant]
[songs of joy] and salvation, (3)
and in the midst of them that fear Thee
tell forth the praise of Thy name
to all ages to come,
pouring forth prayer and supplication (4)
always, at all times and seasons; (5)
when daylight comes forth from [its abode];
(xii,5) when, in its ordered course,
day reaches its turning-point,
in accordance with the rules of the sun;
and again at the turn of the evening,
when daylight departs,
as the rule of darkness begins;
and again in the season of night,
when it reaches its turning-point,
and when the morning breaks;
and when, in the presence of the daylight,
night withdraws to its abode;
when night departs and day comes in,
alway, at all the birthdays of time,
at the moments when seasons begin; (6)
when they reach their turning-points;
when they come in order due
according to their several signs, (7)
as these have dominion in due order assured,
[decreed] by the mouth of God
and by the law of existence
—that law which shall ever be
{10} and beside which is none else,
for the God of Knowledge it is
that hath determined it,
and along with Him there never hath been
nor ever shall be another.
Behold, for mine own part,
I have reached the inner vision,
and through the spirit Thou hast placed within me,
come to know Thee, my God.
I have heard Thy wondrous secret,
nor heard it amiss. (8)
Through Thy holy spirit,
through Thy mystic insight,
Thou hast caused a spring of knowledge to well up within me,
a fountain of strength,
pouring forth waters unstinted,
a floodtide of lovingkindness and of all-consuming zeal.
Thou hast put an end to [my darkness],
{15} and the splendor of Thy glory has become unto me as a light ev[erlasting].
Wickedness hath been [consumed] altogether,
and deceit [existeth] no more.
[Perverseness is gone down] to perdition,
for [ ] existeth no more [ ]
Bluster (9) is at an end,
for it [cannot withstand] Thine anger.
[The sins which I committed aforetime]
[I committed in] overhaste;
for [now am I come to know that] no man is righteous with Thee.
{20} For there is none can understand all Thy hidden things,
nor answer Thy charge against him;
but all must needs wait upon Thy goodness,
for Thou, in [Thy] lovingkindness [wilt reveal to them Thy truth,]
that they may come to know Thee;
and when Thy glory bursts upon them, they shall rejoice.
Only to the measure of each man's knowledge
and to the meed of his understanding
hast Thou given men access [to Thee],
to serve Thee in their several domains,
even as Thou hast assigned their roles,
[but] never to overstep Thy word.
And I—I was taken from dust,
nipped out of clay;
I was but a source of filth
{25} and of shameful nakedness,
a heap of dust,
a thing kneaded with water,
a dwellingplace of darkness,
a shape moulded of clay,
which must needs revert to dust in due season
[and lie once more] in the dust
whence it was taken.
And how can (such) dust and [clay]
give answer to [Him who shapes] it;
or how understand what He doeth,
or how stand before its Accuser?
Even the holy [angels,]
the everlasting [spirits,]
the reservoirs of glory,
the wellsprings of knowledge and power,
{30} —even they [cannot] tell forth all Thy glory,
nor stand against Thine anger,
nor answer Thy charge.
For Thou art ever righteous,
and none can gainsay Thee.
How much less, then, he who returns to his dust?
Lo, I am stricken dumb.
What can I say against this?
I have spoken but according to my knowledge
and only with such sense of right
as a creature of clay may possess.
But how can I speak except Thou open my mouth,
and how understand, if Thou give me not insight;
or how contend, save Thou open my heart;
or how walk straight save Thou gu[ide my feet?]
{35} How can [my] fo[ot] stand,
how can I be strong in power,
how can I endure [save by Thy grace?]
.....
(From this point it becomes impossible to distinguish the separate hymns.)
=======
XIII, 1-21
---When first the world began
[Thou didst shed an] holy [sp]irit
[on all Thou didst bring into being,]
and make them all to attest
Thy wondrous mysteries. (1)
.....
[Thou didst show Thy] handiwork
in all that [Thou] didst make.
[Thou didst reveal Thy glory
in all their varied shapes,]
[Thy] truth [in all] their works.
.....
On all that [keep Thy charge]
[Thou bestowest grace abounding]
{5} and mercies never failing;
but upon all things that defy Thee
Thou bringest perdition eternal.
[So, if mortal men
keep faith with Thee,
behold, Thou crownest their he]ads
with glory everlasting (2)
and [compassest their] works
with perennial joy;
but [the face of] the wicked
[Thou coverest with shame.]
On those whom Thou hast set [in] glory (3)
[to show forth] the full measure of Thy works,
yea, on the hosts of Thy spirits,
the congregation of [Thy Holy Beings,]
[the heavens] with all their array,
the earth with all its produce,
all things in lakes and seas
—on those, ere Thou didst create them,
Thou didst impose a task
{10} and a perpetual charge.
For when first the world began
Thou didst so order them
and appoint the work of each
that they would spell out Thy glory
throughout Thy dominion,
making known thereby
what none would else have seen,
how ancient things pass over,
and new things are ever created, (4)
how Thou doest away with outworn forms,
yet [main]tainest eternal nature, (5)
for Thou art a God everlasting,
and Thou wilt endure for all time.
In Thine inscrutable wisdom
Thou hast assigned to all these
natures diverse and varied
wherein to show forth Thy glory.
But how can a spirit of flesh
understand of these things?
How can it conceive
Thy so great mystery?
Yea, how can one born of woman
attest Thy tremendous plan?
{15} Creature of dust that he is,
moulded of sodden clay,
[a heap of filth],
whose foundation is naked shame,
and who is ruled by a spirit perverse,
through his constant misdeeds (*)
does he not (rather) serve
as a thing of unending [revulsion],
a portent for all generations, (6)
an object of abhorrence to all flesh? (7)
Nay, it is only through Thy goodness
and through Thy mercies abundant
that Man can ever do right.
---[*] Heb. 'If he do wrong'.
---For it is with Thine own beauty
that Thou dost beautify him,
and only of Thy free bounty
dost Thou shower him with delights
and grant him peace unending
and length of days.
And [Lord,] when once Thou hast spoken
ne'er is Thy word revoked. (8)
So, for mine own part,
through the spirit Thou hast planted within me,
I, Thy servant, am come to know
that [all Thy judgments are truth,]
and righteousness all Thy works,
and ne'er is Thy word revoked.
{20} None of the terms and times
which Thou hast foreordained
[hath failed to come to pass]
—all of them duly chosen
for their appointed ends. (9)
Therefore I know full surely
[that yet the tune will come]
[when Thou wilt reward the righteous,]
and the wicked be utterly [doomed.]
=======
XIV, 1-27
---[I give thanks unto Thee, O Lord,
for Thou hast granted a remnant]
unto Thy people
and a re[vival]
[unto Thine inheritance.] (1)
[Thou hast raised up among them]
men of truth
and sons [of light,] (2)
.....
men of abundant compassion,
men of stalwart spirit,
men of tempered [soul,]
men steeled to [sustain] Thy judgments.
[Through them hast Thou kept Thy covenant]
{5} and fulfilled Thy pledge,
to render us unto Thee
[a kingdom of priests and] an holy [nation] (3)
for all generations of time
and for all the [ages to come.]
[Verily, O Lord, Thou dost sustain]
them that have vision of Thee.
Blessed art Thou, O Lord,
Who puttest the sense of discernment
into the heart of Thy servants, (4)
[that they may walk blamelessly before Thee,]
and be steeled against all the dev[ices] of wickedness,
and that they may bless [Thy name,]
{10} [loving] all that Thou lovest
and abhorring all that [Thou hatest,] (5)
[and stray not in the waywardness of men,
but, through the spirit of [discernment which is theirs,
[distinguish] the good from the wicked
[and keep] their deeds undefiled.
Behold, for mine own part,
through that discernment which Thou hast bestowed,
I have indeed attained to such knowledge;
from by virtue of Thy good pleasure
have been granted a share in Thy holy spirit,
and Thou hast brought me close
to an understanding of Thee.
The nearer I draw to Thee, (6)
the more am I filled with zeal
against all that do wickedness
and against all men of deceit.
For none that draws near to Thee
can see Thy commandments defied,
{15} and none that hath knowledge of Thee
can brook change of Thy words,
seeing that Thou art the essence of right,
and in all Thine elect Thy truth is engrained.
Thou wilt bring eternal doom
on all frowardness and transgression,
and Thy righteousness will stand revealed
in the sight of all Thou hast made.
Lo, through Thy great goodness
I have come to know these things,
and committed myself by oath
never to sin against Thee
nor do aught that is evil in Thy sight;
and I have been granted admittance
to [this] community.
So, for mine own part,
I will admit no comrade
into fellowship with me
save by the measure of his understanding,
and only to the degree
of his share in this common lot
will I show friendship to him.
I will not countenance evil,
neither recognize fraud.
{20} I will not barter Thy truth for wealth,
nor all Thy judgments for a bribe.
Only as Thou drawest a man unto Thee
will I draw him unto myself,
and as Thou keepest him afar,
so too will I abhor him;
and I will enter not into communion
with them that turn their back upon Thy covenant (7)
Blessed art Thou, O Lord,
Who, in the greatness of Thy power,
in Thy manifold, infinite wonders
and in the greatness of Thy forbearance
forgivest them that repent their transgression,
but visitest the iniquity of the wicked.
Verily, [on the righteous]
Thou bestowest freely [Thy love,]
{25} but perversity Thou hatest for ever. (8)
So hast Thou graced me, Thy servant,
with the spirit of knowledge and truth, (9)
that I should cherish the paths of righteousness
and abhor all froward ways.
So, for mine own part,
I in turn will love Thee freely (10)
and with all my heart will I [choose]
[to walk in] Thy paths.
For by Thy hand has this thing been wrought,
and without [Thy will can naught be done].
.....
=======
XV, 9-26
---.....
[ ] they love Thee alway.
So, for mine own part,
[I will] [ ]
{10} and love Thee right freely
with all my heart and soul. (1)
Yea, I have cleansed [my heart]
[to adhere to Thy] ho[ly Law]
[and never to] turn aside
from aught that Thou hast commanded;
and I have made Thy commandments
to take firm hold upon many
that they abandon not
any of Thy statutes.
Moreover, through the discernment
which Thou hast bestowed upon me
I am come to know
that not by means of the flesh
can a mortal order his way
neither can any man
direct his own steps. (2)
I know that in Thy hand
is the shaping of each man's spirit,
and ere Thou didst create him
Thou didst ordain his works. (3)
And how can any man
change what Thou hast decreed?
{15} Thou alone it is
that hast created the righteous,
conditioning him from the womb
to rank among the favored
at the end of days, (4)
to be safeguarded ever by covenant with Thee,
to walk alway [undaunted]
through the moving of Thy compassion,
to open all the straitness of his soul
to everlasting salvation (5)
and perpetual peace unfailing.
Thou hast raised his inner glory
out of the flesh.
But the wicked hast Thou created
for the tune of Thy [wr]ath, (6)
reserving them from the womb
for the day of slaughter,
because they walk in the way of the bad
and spurn Thy covenant,
and their soul abhors Thy [statutes],
and they take no pleasure in all Thou hast commanded,
but choose that which Thou hatest.
All [them that hate Thee] hast Thou destined
to the wreaking of great judgments upon them
{20} in the sight of all Thou hast made,
to serve as a sign [and a token] for ever,
that all may have knowledge how great
is Thy glory and strength.
How can flesh have reason,
or the earth-bound direct his steps,
except that Thou hast created spirit (*)
and ordained the working thereof?
By Thee is the way of all the living ordained.
So am I come to know
that no wealth can equal Thy truth,
and Thy holiness hath no match;
and I know that Thou preferest these things to all else,
and that They attend on Thee alway.
Thou wilt accept no bribe [for wrongdoing],
and Thou wilt accept no ransom
for deeds of wickedness.
{25} For Thou art a God of truth
and [hatest] (†) all perverseness;
[and no iniquity]
shall endure in Thy presence.
And I am come also to know
that [righteousness] is Thine,
[and a]ll [Thy works are truth.]
---[*] Heb Thou it is that createdest spirit', etc.
[†] Or, 'wilt destroy'.
---=======
XVI, 1-19
---[Thou hast shed] Thy holy spirit
on righteous and [wicked alike,]
[and Thou wilt judge all men]
[according to their deeds.]
Thy holy spirit can [pass] not [away.]
The fulness of heaven and earth [attests it,]
and the sum of all things
[stands witness to] Thy glory. (1)
I know that through [Thy] good wi[ll] towards man
Thou hast bestowed upon him
a rich heritage in Thy Law]
[that he may walk] in all [his ways]
as Thy truth [instructs;
and (Thou hast vouchsafed unto him)
{5} to maintain a proper stance
through Thy [truth] which Thou hast entrusted to him,
lest he go as[tr]ay [ ],
and Thou [hast lain hold on him]
that he stumble not in any of [his steps]. (2)
Because that all these things
are present in my mind,
I would put into words
my prayer and confession of sin,
my constant search for Thy spirit,
the inner strength which is mine
through the holy spirit,
my devotion to the truth of Thy covenant,
the truth and sincerity
in which I walk,
my love of Thy name:
Blessed art Thou, O Lord,
creator of all things,
mighty in deed, (3)
by Whom all things are wrought.
Behold, Thou hast granted mercy to Thy servant
and shed upon him in Thy grace
Thine ever-compassionate spirit
and the splendor of Thy glory.
Thine, Thine alone, is righteousness,
for Thou it is hast done all these things.
{10} Moreover, because I know
that Thou dost keep a record
of every righteous spirit, (4)
therefore have I chosen
to keep my hands unstained,
according to Thy will;
and the soul of Thy servant has abhorred
all unrighteous deeds.
Nevertheless I know
that no man can be righteous
without Thy help.
Wherefore I entreat Thee,
through the spirit which Thou hast put [within me,]
to bring unto completion
the mercies Thou hast shown unto Thy servant,
cleansing him with Thy holy spirit,
drawing him to Thee in Thy good pleasure,
[ ] him in Thine abundant lovingkindness,
granting to him that place of favor
which Thou hast chosen for them that love Thee
and observe Thy commandments,
that they may stand in Thy presence for ever.
[Suffer not Beli]al [to ari]se
and immerse himself in Thy servant's spirit,
{15} neither let [a spirit] perverse
[rule over] any of his deeds. (5)
Let not affliction confront him
to make him to falter from the statutes of Thy covenant,
but [crown him] with glory and truth.
[For Thou art a God gracious] and merciful,
longsuffering and abounding in lovingkindness and truth,
forgiving transgression [ ]
and relenting of [evil]
[unto them that love Him] and keep His command[ments] (6)
—even unto them that return unto Thee
in faithfulness and wholeness of heart
to serve Thee [and do what is] good in Thy sight.
So turn not away the face of Thy servant
neither [reject] the son of [Thine] handmaid;
[for to Thee, O Lord, belongeth forgiven]ess,
and by Thine own words have I call[ed upon Thee.] (7)
.....
=======
XVII - 1-XVIII, 30
---(Eleven lines too fragmentary to translate seem to describe the doom which awaits the wicked.)
[For divine forgiveness]
In Thine [abundant] mercy
Thou hast said by the hand of Moses
that Thou wouldst [forgive all] iniquity and sin
and shrive all [guilt] and treason. (1)
And verily, though the roots of the mountains [have blazed]
and though the fire [has devoured]
to nethermost hell, (2)
yet, whensoever Thou hast wrought Thy judgments
them hast Thou ever [redeemed]
that were fa[ithful to Thee],
that they might serve Thee in constancy
and that their seed might be ever in Thy presence; (3)
and Thou hast ever confirmed unto them Thine o[ath]
{15} [to pass over all transgression (4)
and to cast away all their iniquities, (5)
and to give them for their inheritance
every mortal glory
and abundance of days.
So, for mine own part,
by virtue of the spirits (6)
which Thou hast set within me,
I will give free rein to my tongue
to tell forth Thy bounteous acts
and Thy forbearance towards me
and the deeds of Thy strong right hand,
and to [confess] my former transgressions
and to make prayer and supplication (7) before Thee
concerning mine [evil] deeds
and the waywardness of [my heart.]
For I have been wallowing in filth,
and [turned] from communion with Thee,
and I have not att[ach]ed myself
[unto Thy congregation.]
{20} Thou—with Thee lies bounty,
and of Thy nature it is
ever to dower blessing. (8)
[Proffer,] then, Thy bounty
and redeem [my soul,]
and let the wicked be brought to an end!
[For spiritual strength]
Moreover, I have come to understand
that Thou hast ever directed the course
of such as Thou hast chosen,
bestowing insight upon him
to spare him from shining against Thee,
repaying unto him
all his affliction of heart
in Thy chastisements and Thy [trials].
Thou hast delivered Thy servant
from sinning against Thee
and from stumbling in doing Thy will.
Strengthen, then, the stand of this Thy servant
against all spirits of perverseness,
that he walk in all the ways which Thou lovest,
reject all that Thou hatest,
and do what is good in Thy sight
Yea, [ ] within me,
for of flesh is the spirit of Thy servant
[For inner enlightenment]
[I am come also to know]
{25} Thou hast ever wafted Thy holy spirit
on him who is Thy servant,
i[llumi]ning for him
the [dark places] of his heart
[with light like the sun.]
But I-behold, I look
to all covenants made by man,
[and all are nothing worth;] (9)
[while they that seek after Thy truth]
do surely find it,
[for on them Thy light] shineth;
and they that love it [are illumined]
[and walk in the glow of] Thy light for ever, (10)
and Thou raisest [their hearts] out of the dark[ness].
.....
Let, then, Thy light [shine ever on Thy servant]
.....
for with Thee is light everlasting.
[For divine protection]
[I am come also to know]
that once Thou didst [ ]
and open the ear of one
who was but dust
[that He might hear Thy teaching]
[and deliver Thy chosen people]
[from folly] and delusion
(xviii,5) and from the uncleanness which [ .]
And Thou didst [ ] Thy [ ],
and [the hands] of Thy servant were steadied by Thy tr[uth,]
and have remained so for ever,
that he might announce Thy wondrous tidings
and reveal them to all who would hear.
[Thou didst strengthen him] by Thy strong right hand to lead [ ]
and Thou didst [ ] [him] by Thy mighty strength,
[that he might achieve renown] for Thy name
and triumph in glory. (11)
Withdraw not now Thy hand [from Thy people,]
that now too there might be among (*) them
men (†) that hold firm to Thy covenant,
---[*] Heb. 'unto'.
[†] Heb. sg., viz. 'a man' that holds firm, etc.
---{10} that stand [blameless] before Thee!
[For power of speech]
Moreover, in the mouth of Thy servant
Thou didst open, as it were, a fount
and duly set [‡] on his tongue
[the words of Thy Law,]
that through the understanding which Thou givest to him
he might proclaim them to human mold,
and serve as the interpreter of these things
to dust like myself.
---[‡] Or, 'engrave' (despite the mixed metaphor!).
---That fount didst Thou open also
that he might reprove what is molded of clay
concerning its way
and that which is born of woman
concerning its guiltiness,
every man according to his deeds.
[Thanksgiving for divine grace]
But lo, that fount serves also
as a Wellspring of Thy truth
for every man whose spirit
Thou hast stayed by Thine own strength,
that he [may walk] in Thy truth,
a herald of Thy good tidings, (12)
bringing cheer to the humble
through Thine abundant compassion,
{15} sat[ing] from that fount
them that are [wounded] in spirit,
bringing to them that mourn
everlasting joy. (13)
.....
.....
[Were it not for Thy grace,]
I could not have seen this thing.
[For how can] I look on [Thy glory]
except Thou open mine eyes?
How hear [the words of Thy truth]
[except Thou unstop mine ears?]
{20} Behold, my heart was amazed
that thus the Word was revealed
to one with ears unattuned,
and that a [wayward] heart
[was suffered to grasp these things.]
But now have I come to know
that for Thyself, O my God,
hast Thou done these things.
For what is mortal flesh
[that Thou shouldst so exalt it]
and work such wonders with it?
Howbeit, Thou wast minded (§)
to consummate all things
and ordain them unto Thy glory,
[and hast therefore called into being]
a host endowed with knowledge
to tell forth Thy mighty acts
unto mortal flesh,
and Thy sure ordinances
to that which is born [of woman.]
And Thou hast brought [Thine elect]
into covenant with Thee
and opened their heart of dust
that, through Thy compassionate Presence,
they may be guarded from [ ]
{25} [and escape] the traps of judgment.
So, for mine own part,
molded [of clay] that I am,
with an heart of stone, (14)
lo, of what worth am I,
that I should attain unto this?
Yet, behold, Thou hast set [Thy word]
in this ear of dust,
and graven upon this heart
eternal verities; (**)
and Thou hast brought to an end
[all of my frowardness,]
to bring me into covenant with Thee,
that I may stand [before Thee]
evermore unshaken (††)
in the glow of the Perfect Light, (15)
till the end of time,
where [no] darkness is for ever,
{30} and where all is peace unbounded
until the end of time.
---[§] Heb. 'it was in Thy thought'.
[**] Heb. 'realities'.
[††] Heb. 'in an eternal station'.
---=======
Fragments
1
[The ho]ly [angels] (1) which are in heaven—
[even they do not know Thy gr]eat name,
for it is a mystery; (2)
neither can they ever [recount all] Thy [wonders] (3)
nor claim knowledge (4) of all [Thy secrets].
[How much less, then, can one
who is destined to re]vert
to the dust whence he came? (5)
{5} Rebellious that I was,
wallowing [in filth], (6)
[tain]ted with the guilt
of wickedness, (7)
I had been [living, as it were],
through more than one Day of Wrath, (8)
[fearful how I could with]stand
the blows that were raining upon me, (9)
how I might be protected
[from the punishing stroke].
Yet, [through that inner discernment
which Thou hast vouchsafed to us,
we of this brotherhood]
have been [made awa]re of these things:
that there (always) is hope for a man (10)
[who turns back from sin
that Thou wilt cleanse him] of taint
Wherefore, O my God,
mere creature of clay though I be, (11)
now have I placed my reliance
[on Thy mercy and faithfulness],
{10} knowing full well
that [what comes from Thy mouth] is truth, (12)
[that Thy word is never re]voked. (13)
So, throughout the time
that is yet allotted to me (14)
I shall hold firm [to Thy judgments],
and I shall maintain my stance
in the station wherein Thou dost set me;
for [Thou, a God of mercy,
dealest mercifully with all] men
and Thou dost provide for them
a way of return.
.....
=======
2
[None is there in Thy heavens
neither upon] Thine earth,
none among angels or m[en
can] render Thee [fitting] praise
or tell forth all of Thy glory.
How much less, then, can I
who was taken from dust?
{5} Howbeit, O my God,
'tis but to attest Thy glory
that Thou hast made all of these.
Wherefore, in accordance
with Thine abundant mercy, (1)
grant that the sense for rightdoing
which issues from Thee
may serve ever as a safeguard [to Thy servant]
to deliver him from doom, (2)
and that, at his every step,
there may be men about him
to interpret to him what he should know (3)
and, [in all of his ways,]
men to impress upon him
the lessons of truth. (4)
For, [do whatever he may,]
how else can man achieve aught,
who is but dust,
in whose ineffectual hands
lies nothing but ashes?
Yet lo, [on such a creature of] clay
[hast Thou shed Thy grace,
giving him Thy] command[ments
in] Thy good will.
Thou hast shaped that clay on the wheel (5)
and passed it through Thy test,
that it may find its way
into Thy lot; (6)
and when cracks appear in it,
Thou mendest them. (7)
{10} Yea, over mere dust
hast Thou wafted Thy [holy] spirit,
[and hast so molded that] clay
that [it can have converse with] angels
and be in communion
with beings celestial.
[Mere flesh hast Thou lit
with a light] perpetual,
that there be no reversion to darkness,
for [ ],
and a light hast Thou revealed
that it never can be turned back.
.....
Thou hast wafted Thy ho[ly spirit
o'er these humble servants of Thine], (8)
clearing away all guilt (9)
[and purifying them],
that, along with Thine (heavenly) host,
they too [may minis]ter to Thee,
and, stayed upon Thy truth,
{15} walk [upon level ground
and str]ay [not] from Thy presence.
These men hast Thou singled out, [O my God,]
(to bear witness) to Thy glory,
and through that sense for rightdoing
[which Thou hast vouchsafed to them
Thou hast delivered them from sin
and purged away from them
a]ll the frowardness
of their tainted mold.
=======
3
[Unto the children of light]
a way has indeed been opened
[that they may walk upon] peaceful paths (1)
and show how miraculously (2)
[God rescues human] flesh
[from thralldom to sin].
My own feet had been [falling]
into all manner of hidden traps (3)
which Sin (4) had been laying,
and into all manner of nets
which it had been spreading. (5)
{5} [How, thought I,] will I (ever) preserve
(this) fabric of dust from crumbling,
this waxen mold [from dissolving]?
Mere heap of ash that I am,
how will I (ever) withstand
the stormy blast? (6)
Howbeit, God has been keeping it
for His mysterious ends;
because He has been aware
[of how frail it is,
He has not suffered it (?)]
to be wholly destroyed. (7)
Though men keep laying (for it)
traps never so many,
and [tightening all about it]
the toils of frowardness, (8)
yet will all guileful bent
be brought to an end,
{10} [and all wickedness] come to naught
and every deceitful intent (9)
and all the works of guile
cease to exist
I am but a creature [of clay,
a fabric of dust;]
and what strength does such possess?
Thine, O God of [all knowledge] (10)
is [the power and the might]; (11)
Thou it is didst make all things,
and but for Thee [can naught exist],
[Yet, creature] of dust though I be,
by virtue of the spirit
which Thou hast set within me,
I have now come to know
that [Thou wilt yet call to account
all guil]ty (men) (12)
that flock unto (13) frowardness and guile,
and the Wellspring of sin will be dammed. (14)
[For] that which is wrought in uncleanness
can bring naught else but disease, (15)
condign plague (16) and decay.
.....
Thine, [O my God,] is a blazing wrath
and a ven[geful] passion. (17)
.....
=======
4
[The sons of Thy covenant
are come to know
that alway, at every moment,
continually, ev]ening and morning,
[Thou dost vouchsafe unto them
the blessing of salvation]
and [heal]ing [from all the afflic]tions of men
and pa[ins of humankind].
{5} Wherefore they stand as sentinels,
[posted] upon their watch, (1)
[knowing that] Thou wilt exorcize
every noisome devil (2)
and [every evil spirit].
Moreover, Thou hast unstopped mine ear
(and made me aware)
that through such spirits as these (*)
[men who have bound themselves
to](human) [pledge] and pact
have (ofttimes) been seduced
and will (someday) come before Thee
to face Thy charge.
---(*) Heb. 'through them'.
---Wherefore, I for my part
have been living in terror of Thy judgment
{10} [for who can prove innocent be]fore Thee,
and who can gain acquittal
when Thy sentence is passed? (3)
To what will man amount
when Thou arraignest him,
and to what he that turns back to his dust [ ]?
Howbeit, O my God,
Thou hast opened mine heart
to the insight which comes from Thee,
and unstopped mine ear [to Thy teaching],
that, although my mind be unquiet (4)
[on account of hidden wrongdoings],
and although my heart has been melting like wax (5)
because of transgression and sin
which I have kept [concealed],
(6) I am come to rely upon Thy goodness.
{15} Blessed be Thou,
Thou God of (all) knowledge, (7)
Who hast (so) ordained,
and vouchsafed, for Thine own sake,
that this fortune should fall upon Thy servant.
For now that I am come to (this) knowledge,
so long as I have being
I will put my hopes in Thy [mercy].
Confirm, then, [Thy word] unto Thy [ser]vant
Forsake us not in (these) times [of trial, (8)
that so we may bear witness alway
to Thy grace] and Thy glory and [Thy] go[odness],
.....
=======
5
With a wondrous shew of [Thy power
Thou wilt visit upon them
Thy] righteous [judg]ment, (1)
[sundering and] severing them for ever
from standing among [Thy] sa[ints] (2)
[and from all] communion
with Thy Holy Beings. (3)
The spirits of wickedness (4)
wilt Thou ba<ni>sh from the ear[th], (5)
{5} [and they that incite to] evil
shall exist no more.
Thou wilt appoint a place of un[rest (6)
for all] spirits of frowardness, (7)
the which shall be brought to their ruin,
(doomed) to [perpetual] mourning
and everlasting grief. (8)
When wickedness reaches its height
in a climax of mighty uphea[val], (9)
there shall come upon them
anguish absolute. (10)
Howbeit, that all may take knowledge of Thy glory
and s[ee] how soothfast is Thy judgment, (11)
[Thou wilt also shew forth]
in the sight of all Thou hast made
how wondrous Thy mercies can be. (12)
Thou hast opened human ears (13)
[and imparted unto them
the designs of] Thy heart, (14)
and hast given to [mortal] minds
the means to understand
that a time is yet to come
when 'witness will be borne'. (15)
(Here) on earth wilt Thou enter suit (16)
with them that dwell thereon, (17)
and [Thou wilt] also [wreak vengeance
on the children of] darkness, (18)
vindica[ting the ri]ghteous
and condemning the wicked], (19)
and suffering not [the children of light] (20)
to be sundered [from bl]essing [evermore].
=======
Poems From A Qumran Hymnal
Sing unto the Lord a new song
I - David (PSALM 151)
A Halleluiah; ascribed to David, the son of Jesse
(v.l) Smaller (1) was I than my brothers
and the youngest (2) of my father's sons.
So he set me as herdsman of his sheep
and ruler over his kids. (3)
(v.2) My hands fashioned a Panpipe,
and my fingers a lyre
that I might pay honor to the LORD. (*)
---(*) Written in archaic script (YHWH?)
----
(v.3) I kept saying within myself:
"The mountains cannot tell Him
what indeed they witness, (4)
neither can the hills.
The leaves of the trees have no speech for my words, (5)
nor the sheep for my acts. (6)
(v.4) Nay, who is there that can tell,
who is there that hath speech and can relate
what it is that I am doing?"
Yet, He Who is the Lord of All Things
saw it indeed;
He Who is the God of All Things—
He heard and Himself gave ear.
(v.5) So He sent His prophet to anoint me,
even Samuel to bring me to greatness. (7)
My brothers went out to meet him, (8)
handsome and comely withal, (9)
(v.6) tall of stature, (10) with splendid locks;
but them the LORD God did not choose.
(v.7) I it was He sent for and fetched
from behind the sheep, (11)
and He had me anointed with holy oil,
and made me the leader (12) of His people
and the ruler of the Children of His covenant.
---Note:
It may be of interest here to reprint a curious and forgotten version of Psalm 151 quoted in Holland's
Psalmists (1848) as the work of a certain 'R.B.', said to be Richard Braithwait, whose versified
rendering of I Samuel, ch. 17, in no less than sixty four-line stanzas, appeared in London in 1628.
Holland says that the Psalm is included in Arabic, Anglo-Saxon, and Greek liturgies and was
recognized as canonical by Athanasius. Actually, what is presented is, at best, an abbreviation of
'R.B.'s' version, and it has been suggested that it may in fact have been composed by William Tennant,
who held the Chair of Hebrew at St. Andrew's University, Scotland, in the middle of the nineteenth
century; see Notes and Queries, VI, v (1882), p. 357.
1. Among my brethren I was least,
And of my father's stock
I was the youngest in his houseThe shepherd of his flock.
2. Rare instruments of music oft
My hands, well-practised, made;
And on the sacred psaltery
My skilful fingers play'd.
3. But who of me shall speak to God,
and tell him of my care?
The Lord himself, lo, even now,
Doth hearken to my prayer.
4. He sent his messenger and took
Me from the shepherd's toil;
And on my head—sweet unction!—pour'd
His own anointing oil.
5. My brethren, beautiful and tall,
Held theirs a happy lot;
But in them and their comeliness
The Lord delighted not.
6. To meet the boasting alien chief
I went forth on their part;
He cursed me by his idols and
Despised me from his heart
7. But having slain, I with his sword
Cut off his head at once.
And took away the foul reproach
Of Israel's daunted sons.
---=======
II Invitation To Grace After Meals
1 [Loudly acclaim
the majesty of God;
where many are foregathered
Let His majesty resound!
2 Amid the throng (1) of the upright
proclaim how majestic He is, (2)
and along with the faithful
tell stories of His greatness! (3)
3 [Join company] (4) with the good and the blameless
in confessing the majesty transcendent; (5)
4 unite (6) in making known
His saving power,
nor be laggard in showing to the mindless
His might and majesty!
5 For it is that the glory of the LORD (*) may be made
known that wisdom has been given,
---(*) Written in archaic script.
---6 and that the richness (7) of His works may be told
has it been imparted to man,
7 to the end that the witless may have knowledge of
His power,
and the mindless a sense of His greatness—
8 men who keep far from her doors,
remote from all access to her.
9 Although the Most High, forsooth,
is Jacob's special Lord, (8)
yet does His majesty reach out
over all that He has made,
{10} and a mortal who avows it (9)
is no less pleasing to Him
than one who brings offerings of grain,
{11} or presents to Him he-goats and bullocks,
or fills the altar with ashes
of burnt-offerings never so many (10)—
yea, than fragrant incense
proffered by righteous men.
{12} Wisdom's voice rings out
from behind the doors of the righteous;
wherever the godly foregather
(is heard) her song.
{13} Whenso they eat and are filled, (11)
the word is of her;
when they drink in fellowship together,
{14} their talk is of the lore (†) of the Most High;
the aim of their discourse is to further
the knowledge of His power.
---[†] Heb. Torah'.
---{15} (But oh, how far from the wicked
is any word of her;
how far from all the proud
any wish to have knowledge of her!)
{16} Behold, the eye (12) of the LORD
looks with compassion on the good,
{17} and great is His tenderness to them
that avow His majesty;
He will save them from the time of trouble. (13)
{18} [Bless ye] the LORD,
Who redeems the humble
from the grasp of the proud,
[and delivers [the blameless]
[from the hand of the wicked;]
{19} [Who will yet raise Ja]cob [to honor], (14)
and [from Israel] govern [the world]; (15)
{20} [Who will spread His tent in Zion
and be present in Jerusalem for ever!] (16)
=======
III - Plea For Grace (*)
LORD, (†) I have called on Thee;
pay heed unto me. (1)
I have (duly) spread forth my palms
toward Thy holy abode. (2)
Bend Thou, (then,) Thine ear (3)
and grant me what I ask, (4)
nor withhold from me what I seek.
{5} Build up my soul,
and cast it not down,
neither be it left naked (5)
in face of the wicked.
Let the evil that I have earned (6)
be turned away (7) from me,
O Thou Who judgest right truly. (8)
Sentence me not, O LORD,
according to my sin,
for there is no man living
can be justified in Thy presence. (9)
Cause me, O LORD,
to understand what Thou teachest; (‡) (10)
school me in Thy rules, (11)
that men far and wide may hear tell of how Thou actest,
and peoples acknowledge how illustrious is Thy glory. (12)
{10} Remember me; do not forget me,
neither involve me
in things too hard for me.
---[*] In the Hebrew, this poem is an alphabetical acrostic.
[†] Written in archaic script
[‡] Heb. Thy Torah'.
----
The sins of my youth put far from me,
and let not my transgressions
be remembered against me. (13)
Cleanse me, O LORD, of noisome plague, (14)
and let it never return (15) unto me.
Let its root wither from me, (16)
and its l[ea]ves blossom not upon me.
{15} Mighty (17) art Thou, O LORD;
wherefore by Thine own power
fulfil (18) what I ask;
(for) unto whom (else) can I cry
that He might grant it to me,
and what pow[er] more (than Thine)
do mere mortals possess? (19)
From Thee comes my confidence, O LORD.
Whenso I have called upon the LORD,
He (alway) has answered me (20)
[and mended] my broken heart;
whenso I have slumbered or [sl]ept or dreamed,
[(alway) Have I awoken; (§) (21)
whenso my heart has been smitten, (22)
LORD, Thou hast (ever) upheld me, (23)
and I have had cause to cry out!]
"'Tis Thou, LORD,
[hast rescued me!]" (24)
{20} [So, at this present time,
I shall yet behold
the hopes of the wicked confounded; (**) (25)
but no such confounding will be mine
because it is in Thee
that I have taken refuge.] (26)
---[§] Passages in smaller type are supplied from the Syriac version.
(**) Heb., simply, 1 shall yet behold their disappointment'.
---[Ransom Israel, O LORD, (27)
to whom Thou art pledged, (28)
even the house of Jacob
whom Thou hast chosen.]
=======
IV - Supplication
<Poor am I and weak,> (*)
for the worm cannot confess Thee,
nor the maggot rehearse Thy lovingkindness;
the living alone can do so,
the living alone. (1)
Whenever Thou showest men Thy kindness,
what time their foot has slipped,
they needs must confess Thee (and own)
that in Thy hand it is
that the souls of all living lie,
and that Thou it is hast given
breath to all flesh. (2)
{5} Deal with us, then, O LORD, (†)
after the manner of Thy goodness,
Thine abundant compassion and Thy justice. (3)
The LORD hath (alway) heard the voice
of them that love His name, (4)
and ne'er hath He abandoned
His lovingkindness (5) toward them.
---[*] Supplied from another fragmentary copy.
[†] Written in archaic script
---"Blessed is the LORD,
Who dealeth bountifully. (6)
Who crowneth with loyal love and compassion
them that are loyal to Him." (7)
(So) hath mine own soul
come to acclaim Thy name
in a roar of praise,
confessing Thy loyal love
in joyous song,
telling forth the tale
of Thy constancy. (8)
(Endless, indeed, is the praise
that is due unto Thee!)
{10} I too had been marked for death
on account of my sins,
my wrongdoings had sold me to Sheol; (‡) (9)
but Thou, in accord with Thine abundant compassion,
Thou, in accord with Thy bounteous ways,
didst rescue me, O LORD.
---[‡] That is, the netherworld.
---I too have loved Thy name,
sought shelter in Thy shade; (10)
in calling to mind Thy power
my heart finds strength, (11)
and upon Thy loyal love
have I come to lean.
Wherefore forgive Thou my sin, O LORD, (12)
and purge me of my wrongdoing. (13)
Vouchsafe Thou unto me
a spirit of constancy
and knowledge (of Thy truth). (14)
Let me not stumble in waywardness. (15)
{15} Suffer no devil (16) nor spirit unclean (17)
to bear sway over me;
let not pain or evil bent
gain mastery over my body.
For Thou, O LORD, it is
from Whom comes (all) my worth, (18)
and on Thee have I alway pinned my hopes. (19)
Let my brethren and father's house
who now are desolate
rejoice along with me
in the dowering of Thy grace.
Let me find in Thee
an [everl]asting joy.
=======
V - The City Of God
I will call down a blessing, O Zion,
on the memory of thee; (1)
with all my might have I loved thee: (2)
'Blessed for evermore
be the memory of thee!' (3)
Great has been thy hope, O Zion,
thy quiet, longing hope (4)
that salvation would come to thee; (5)
that men would be dwelling in thee
till the end of time; (6)
that successions (7) of godly men
would be there for thine ornament;
that men who now are yearning
for the day of thy salvation,
who find joy in thy manifold glory,
would yet drink in that glory of thine
like mother's milk, (8)
and stroll through thy beautiful squares
to the jingling of bells; (9)
that thou wouldst yet conjure up
the godly devotion of thy prophets
and find thy pride in the things
wrought by thy saints—
in the purging of all violence from within thee,
with (all) falsehood and frowardness cut off;
that thy children would make merry in thy midst,
and thy friends who have allied themselves with thee. (10)
(How have they been hoping
for thy salvation, (11)
and mourning over thee!) (12)
This hope of thine, O Zion,
shall prove not a hope forlorn, (13)
nor shall this yearning of thine
become a forgotten thing.
Who ever perished, being righteous, (14)
or whom in his frowardness
has God ever allowed to go free?
Nay, there is never a man
that is not brought to trial
for the way he has trod,
and none but receives his deserts
for the deeds he has done.
Nevertheless, O Zion,
no foe ever compassed thee (15)
but was (in the end) cut down,
and none has nursed hate for thee
but was put to rout! (16)
A scent (17) unto the nostrils
is the fame of thee, O Zion,
(diffused) (18) over all the world!
Over and over again
will I call down a blessing
upon the memory of thee:
with all my heart (19) invoke
(this) benediction upon thee:
'Mayest thou yet attain
the triumph of righteousness
world without end, (20)
and receive the blessings shed
on men marked out for honor! (21)
Reap thou the harvest (22) of that vision (23)
that once was spoken of thee,
and may there ensue for thee
what the prophets dreamed!' (24)
Grow high and wide, O Zion!
Praise the Most High, thy Redeemer!
When thou art brought to honor
my soul will rejoice. (25)
=======
VI - Morning Hymn
Great and holy is the LORD, (*) (1)
the holiest of the holy for all time. (2)
Before Him goes a splendor; (3)
behind Him a surge of many waters. (4)
Lovingkindness and Truth
are round about His presence; (5)
Justice and Right
are the mainstay of His throne; (6)
Who has parted light from darkness (7)
and, through His discerning wisdom, (8)
turned the glimmer of dawn
into bright day. (9))
(When first all His angels saw it,
they sang for joy, (10)
for what He was showing them
was a thing they had known not erst); (11)
Who crowns the hillsides with produce (12)—
choice food for all the living.
Blessed be He (13)
Who by His power made the earth,
by His wisdom founded the world,
by His understanding spread out the skies;
Who (first) brought forth [the wind]
out of His promptu[aries], (14)
made [lightnings for the ra]in, (15)
and lifted the mist[s from the] hori[zon]. (16)
---(*) Written in archaic script.
---=======
Lament For Zion
I, i
[God warned us that He would pu]nish
all our iniquities,
but because [we] did not listen to [the warning (1)
that all these things would befall us,
now is there naught we can do. (2)
By the evil of [our deeds (3)
we have cancelled] His covenant (with us). (4)
Woe unto us!
{5} [Our temple] has gone up in flames; (5)
the [shrine] which was our pride (6)
has been turned into [rubble];
no more is there within it
the sweet savor of sacrifices.
[Men have come trampling] in [their sandals] (7)
the courts of our sanctuary.
[All the sacred] ve[ssels] have been [carried away] (?). (8)
Jerusalem, which was once
a [joyous] city,
is made over to wild beasts, (9)
with no one to [rescue her]. (10)
[Deserted] are her squares,
{10} her mansions all [abandoned],
[her highways] desolate,
with never a pilgrim upon them. (11)
All the cities of [Judah
have been laid waste; (12)
the land of] our heritage
has become like a wilderness,
an un[inhabited] tract. (13)
No sound of merriment
is heard anymore within it,
[No one] seeks [our welfare, (14)
nor is there] any man
[who has carried the lo]ad of our pain; (15)
and (all the while) our foes
[have been lolling at ease]. (16)
{15} Our transgressions [are past all counting],
and our sins [have denounced us]. (17)
I, ii
Woe unto us!
God's anger flared [against us], (18)
and we shared the defilement of the dead, (19)
Is[rael became]
like a wife grown loathsome,
[Our mothers showed no pity] for their babes;
Our womenfolk were turned into harpies, (20)
{5} [shorn of all the charm of] their youth. (21)
Our sons were undone; (22)
[numbed] by winter's cold,
our daughters, instead of dwelling
[secure] in [their fathers'] homes,
[hugged] the dunghills (23) with wizened hands;
when they begged for water,
no one pou[red it for them].
They that were worth their weight in gold
{10} [were deemed but] worthless [shards], (24)
reared though they were in purple, (25)
decked in fine gold,
garbed in [linen] and lawn,
man [tied] in blue and brocade. (26)
The (once) tender maidens of Zion [became ].
II
[Ah, how she sits] alone,
[the city once full of people!] (27)
{5} Once the princess of all nati[ons], (28)
now is she desolate,
like a woman abandoned!
....... all her daughters too
like a woman abandoned,
like a woman cast down and cast off. (29)
Her mansions all and [her] wal[ls],
(empty of all life,)
are become like a barren wife, (30)
and all [her] roads like one
left destitute. (31)
Her ......... are like a woman
in bitter grief, (32)
and all her daughters like those
who mourn their mates;
...her [matrons] are like (mothers)
bereaved of an only child. (33)
Bitterly Jeru[salem] weeps,
[and her tears run] down her cheeks; (34)
on account of her sons [ ]
.....
{10} she [has been wa]il[ing] and moaning. (35)
=======
Hymns Of Triumph
I
Let the [righteous] hail the LORD
in wild acclaim, (1)
for He is (even now) on His way
to pass judgment on all deeds,
to wipe out the wicked from the earth, (2)
that the froward exist no more.
The skies will [drop] their dew, (3)
and blight shall come no more
within their borders, (4)
The soil will yield its tilth in due season, (5)
and its produce shall not be lacking.
Fruit trees will [burgeon and blossom],
and springs will not fail.
{5} The poor will have to eat, (6)
and they that fear the LORD will be sated.
II
Let heaven and earth unite
in a chorus of praise! (1)
Let all the stars of evening
break out in hymns! (2)
Be right joyful, O Judah,
right merry and gay!
Make thy pilgrimages;
pay (in a purified Temple)
the offerings thou hast vowed,
for Belial shall no more be in thy midst! (3)
Victory and triumph shall be thine;
for lo, thine enemies shall perish,
and all evildoers be scattered; (4)
{5} but Thou, O LORD, art eternal
and Thine is a glory which endureth
world without end. (5)
Hallelujah.
=======
Notes
The Hymn of the Initiants
1. I.e., at noon.
2. 'Storehouses of darkness' are mentioned (metaphorically) in Isa. 45.3.
3. Literally, 'and sets against it (?)'; the text is somewhat obscure.
4. I.e., at midnight. The reference in these lines is to the three statutory tunes of daily prayer; cf.
Mishnah, Berachoth, iv.l.
5. On the basis of such Biblical passages as Hab. 3.11; Deut. 26.15; Jer. 25.30 and II Chron. 30.27, the
terms 'Height' (Heb. Zebul) and 'Abode' (Heb. Ma'on) came to be used in rabbinic literature as names
of two of the seven heavens.
6. In the calendrical system underlying the pseudepigraphic books of Jubilees and Enoch, seasons
formally begin at new moon.
7. I.e., at solstice and equinox.
8. Cp. Ex. 12.14; Lev. 23.24; Num. 10.10.
9. An allusion to the belief, still maintained by the Samaritans, that all the commandments given to
Moses were engraven by God on tablets. Cp. Ex. 32.16. 10. An allusion to the obligation of bringing
tribute at seasonal festivals; cp. Num. 15.19-20. Jewish tradition declares that prayer now substitutes
for offerings, and the statutory services are still named for those offerings. The Essenes, says Josephus
(War, I, iii, 5) did not make offerings but 'offered sacrifices within themselves'. This was also the
attitude of the early Church. The Didascalia Apostolorum declare expressly that 'instead of sacrifices
which then were, offer now prayers and petitions and thanksgivings' (p. 86 ed Conolly).
11. Cp. Lev. 25.8ff.
12. The expression occurs also in the Psalms of Solomon 15.3: 'The fruit of the lips with the welltuned instru-ment of the tongue, the first-fruits of the lips from a pious and righteous heart—he that
offereth these shall never be shaken by evil'. There is a subtle play on words in the original, for the
Hebrew word azam-merah means at once 'cull' (strictly, trim vines'; cp. Lev. 25.3) and 'sing'. The
concept of 'fruit of the lips' is derived from Isa. 57.19, and more especially from a variant reading of
Hos. 14.3(2) preserved in the Greek (Septuagint) and Syriac (Peshitta) translation (and adopted by the
Revised Standard Version).
13. Cp. Jer. 31.35-36. The point is that the Hebrew word for 'bound' also means 'statute, ordinance'. In
observing the fixed order of day and night, the psalmist will be inspired likewise to abide by God's
rules.
14. Literally, 'and where they [i.e., God's bounds, statutes] are will I set my boundary'.
15. The pious Jew offers a blessing every morning as soon as he takes his first steps, viz. 'Blessed art
Thou, O Lord, our God, King of the Universe, Who directest the steps of man'.
16. An adaptation of the words, 'when thou liest down and when thou risest up', in Deut. 6.7. The
pious Jew recites the Shema' (Deut. 6.4-9, etc.) when he lies down to sleep and when he wakes up in
the morning —in the former case, in a recumbent position, in the latter standing up; cp. Mishnah,
Berachoth, i.3.
17. An allusion to the benediction pronounced before meals, viz. 'Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God,
King of the Universe, Who bringest forth food (bread) from the earth'.
18. An allusion to the blessing offered by Jews on hearing bad news, viz. 'Blessed is He, the truthful
Judge' (Mishnah, Berachoth, ix.2). Cp. Mishnah, Ber. ix.5: 'Man is obliged to offer blessing for evil as
well as for good'.
19. An allusion to the blessing offered by Jews on deliver-ance from danger, viz. 'Blessed art Thou, O
Lord our God ... Who bestowest good things on the undeserving, and Who hast bestowed a good thing
upon me'.
20. An adaptation of Ps. 23.6.
21. Cp. Manual, ix.22.
22. Cp. Manual, ix.16.
23 The expression is derived from Deut. 32.35, accord-ing to the reading found in the Samaritan
recension and in the Greek (Septuagint) Version, viz. 'Is not this stored up with Me ... against the Day
of Requital?' This reading is actually found in a fragment of Deuteronomy discovered at Qumran. See
also Isa. 34.8; 61.2. 'Day of Requital' is the technical term among the Samaritans for Doomsday.
24. Cp. Manual, vii.8.
25. Cp. Manual, vii.9.
26. Cp. Manual, vii. 5ff.
27. Pss. 16.8; 121.5.
28. Ps. 40.3(2).
29. Cp. Eph. 1.3; II Thess. 1.5. A similar expression occurs at the beginning of the Apostolic
Constitutions.
30. Based on Isa. 60.21; 61.3. The Apostolic Constitutions speaks of 'God's planting and the holy
vineyard, the church catholic, the elect', and so too does Epiphanius, Haer., xiv.4.
31. Cp. John 1.3.
32. The word, I suggest, has a technical nuance, for Josephus (War, II, viii, 7) speaks of one who was
admitted to the communion after the first year of probation as 'one who comes nearer'. I would
therefore make a distinction between 'coming near' as indicating the first stage, and 'coming nearer' as
indicating the second. The former is here intended, since the psalmist virtually repeats the preliminary
oath described in Manual, col. i.
33. The Hebrew text is doubtful. Others read, 'a draining of spittle', but I find this meaningless,
because spittle is ejected, not drained. 34. Job 33.6.
=======
The Book of Hymns
~~1~~
1. This is perhaps the most intricate hymn in the collection, and in order to bring out the nexus of
though I have had to resort to a certain amount of expansion and paraphrase. The central idea appears
to be that God has appointed sentient spirits to inform and govern the various elements of the
universe.
The functions and operations of such spirits were determined even before they were created. Man too
is endowed with such a spirit Hence, God knows and determined all that man will ever do, think or
say. But since God's power is matched by His benevolence, He also fortifies that spirit against the
trials and afflictions of human existence; and when it gets tainted by worldly corruption, He
constantly cleanses it. Man can save himself from error and profanation by adopting a sober and
temperate mode of life.
The doctrine of controlling spirits may owe some-thing to Iranian ideas about the yazatas, who
likewise 'animate' phenomena and bestow help upon men.
2. Cp. Jer. 32.19.
3. Cp. Ex. 34.6. The psalmist resorts to the common rabbinic device of contrasting, or juxtaposing, the
vari-ous attributes of God.
4. Cp. John 1.3.
5. Restored from Isa. 45.12.
6. The rabbinic tradition was that angels were created only on the second or fifth day; cp. Genesis
Rabbah, i.3.
7. The language is borrowed from Num. 4.27.
8. The concept is based on such Scriptural passages as Jer. 10.13; 51.16; Ps. 135.7 (promptuaries of
winds); Ps. 33.7 (of waters); Job 38.22 (of hail); and Isa, 45..3 (of darkness). It is elaborated in Enoch
17.3; 18.1; 41.4ff.; 60.12-24; 69.23; 71.4.
9. Cp. Enoch 41.3; 59.1; 71.4.
10. Note the contrast between the power and the wisdom of God, exemplifying the general statement
made in the opening lines. The restoration is imposed by the basic theme of the psalm.
11. Cp. Zech. 12.1.
12. Literally, 'at their fixed times'.
13. Cp. Manual of Discipline, iii. 14—15.
14. Cp. John 1.3.
15. Cp. Isa. 29.24; Ps. 95.10; I John 4.6 ('the spirit of error').
16. Cp. Hymns, xvi.10; Slavonic Enoch, 50.1. See also T.H. Gaster, Thespis2 (1961), pp. 288f.
17. Cp. I Sam. 2.3.
18. The phrase is based on Hos. 14.3, read as in the Greek (Septuagint) and Syriac (Peshitta) Versions.
19. Literally, 'settest words upon a line'.
20. Literally, 'and the expression of the spirit of the lips in due measure'.
21. Literally, 'and Thou producest lines for their secrets'.
22. Literally, 'ye of low intellect'.
23. Literally, 'increase prudence (subtlety)'.
24. Cp. Hymns, ii.11; Pss. 35.16; 37.12; 112.10; Job 16.9; Lam. 2.16.
~~2~~
1. Restored from Jer. 16.19.
2. Deut. 33.11.
3. Ps. 51.10.
4. Mal. 1.4.
5. Ezek. 36.3.
6. Job 30.9; Lam. 3.14.
7. Cp. Isa. 17.12.
8. Isa. 57.20.
9. Literally, 'the elect of righteousness' or 'the rightfully chosen'. But there is a play on words, for
'elect' was the technical term in Hebrew (and already in the cuneiform documents from Mari, of the
18th cent., B.C.) for 'picked troops'. This explains the reference to the 'banner', which is understood in
the sense of a military ensign.
10. Prov. 12.1.
11. Judges 12.2; Jer. 15.10.
12. Isa. 30.10. (RSV: 'Prophesy not unto us what is right'. But the word rendered 'prophesy' really
means 'see, envision', and that rendered 'what is right' really means 'straight things'.)
13. Num. 5.14, 30. The poet gives his own interpretation of the words usually rendered 'spirit of
jealousy' (or, 'zeal').
14. Isa. 27.11.
15. Isa. 28.11.
16. Cp. Hos. 4.14.
~~3~~
1. I Sam. 25.29. These famous words are usually rendered, The soul of my lord shall be bound up in
the bundle of life [or, the living]', and it is in this sense that they are commonly inscribed on Jewish
tombstones. But the word rendered 'bundle' can also mean 'pouch, wallet', and the poet evidently
understood the sentence—as did several medieval Jewish commentators—to imply that God will keep
the faithful, like a treasure in a wallet, safe from Death.
2. Job 1.10.
3. Pss. 54.5; 86.14.
4. Cp. Isa. 30.30.
5. A fanciful interpretation of the Hebrew text of Isa. 59.5 (American Jewish Version: 'And that which
is crushed breaketh out into a viper'). By construing the words differently, the poet obtained the sense,
'By repeated crushings they split all trivial things'.
6. Pss. 9.16; 35.7-8.
7. An adaptation of Ps. 26.12.
~~4~~
1. Ps. 82.3.
2. Jer. 31.11.
~~5~~
1. I Sam. 6.18; II Kings 10.2; Jer. 1.18; Ps. 108.11.
2. Jer. 4.31.
3. I Sam. 4.19; Dan. 10.16.
4. A play on Mic. 2.10, for the Hebrew words which in that context mean 'grievous destruction' can
also be construed in the sense of 'grievous throes'.
5. Cf. II Kings 19.3; Isa. 37.3.
6. Isa. 66.7.
7. II Sam. 22.6 (Ps. 18.6).
8. Literally, 'One who is wonderful in counsel, a hero divine', alluding to Isa. 9.5.
9. Cp. Job 38.8.
10. Literally, 'all the birth-throes are hastening'.
11. This line has here been inserted in order to clarify the expression 'crucible of conception'.
12. The Hebrew word which normally describes the onset of labor means properly 'turn, change', and
the poet here plays on that sense.
13. The poet has in mind the words of Isa. 42.14, 'Like a woman in travail will I gasp', but he takes the
Hebrew word for 'gasp', viz. ef'eh, in the sense of the noun ef'eh meaning 'viper'.
14. The pun has been introduced into the rendering in order to bring out the meaning.
15. Ps. 107.27 (RSV: 'They are at their wits' end').
16. Job 41.23(31).
17. A play on Job 38.16, where (by changing the vowels) the Hebrew words for 'springs of the sea'
can be interpreted to mean 'eddies of the sea'. This, it may be added, is the way in which the ancient
Aramaic translation (Targum) understood them, and our poet had the same tradition.
18. Isa. 38.10.
19. Disaster was often portrayed in antiquity as the loosing of divine or demonic arrows; cp. Ps. 91.5;
Job 6.4 In the Iliad (i, 51), the plague which besets the Greeks before Troy is attributed to the arrows
of Apollo, and in the Middle Ages, a man who was diseased was said to be 'elf-shot'. In later Jewish
folklore, punishment in the grave includes the shooting of 'arrows of iron and fire'; cf. Zohar,
Wayaqhel (§199.2); Hibbut ha-Qeber, in Masseketh Simhah, ed. M. Higger (1931), p. 259; A.
Jellinek, Beth ha-Midrash, v. 49; J. Eisenstein, Osar ha-Midrashim (1915), p. 94.
20. 'To cry to the deep' seems to have been a proverbial expression for futile screams; cf. Hymns,
vi.24; x.33. Here, in the context of a storm at sea, the picture is somewhat more literal, and I have
therefore rendered it by a paraphrase designed to bring this out
21. The restoration is due to L. Silberman.
22. Cp. Jonah 2.6.
23. See above, n. 13.
~~6~~
1. Isa. 38.17.
2. Prov. 15.11; 27.20. The term rendered 'Perdition' was sometimes used as a synonym for 'hell' (Ps.
88.12; Job 26.6, etc.). It is the Hebrew Abbadon, which occurs in Rev. 9.11 as the name of the demon
of the abyss.
3. Ezra 10.2.
4. The expression is based on Isa. 19.14 (RSV: 'spirit of confusion', literally, 'of distortions').
5. Ps. 19.14.
6. Cp. Manual of Discipline ii, 25; iv, 22; Eph. 2.19.
7. Cp. Isa. 52.8; Ps. 98.9; Job 38.7-all of which passages show that the Hebrew words mean simply
'sing together, in chorus', not 'sing in the Community', as some scholars have mistakenly rendered.
We may perhaps compare Plotinus, Enneads, vi, 9: 'When we behold Him, we attain the end of our
existence and our rest. Then we no longer sing out of tune, but form a truly divine chorus about Him'.
8. Pss. 9.2; 26.7; 75.2.
9. Mal. 1.4.
10. Amos 3.9.
11. This is simply an approximate rendering. The Hebrew word occurs only once in the Bible (Isa.
14.4)—and even there the reading is uncertain—and its meaning is not yet definitely determined
(RSV: 'insolent fury'; Moffatt: 'mad rage').
12. Based on Isa. 19.8.
13. See note 15 to Hymn No. 5.
14. Jer. 42.18; Nah. 1.6, etc.
15. The Hebrew word occurs only at Ps. 26.4. It is apparently derived from a verbal root meaning
'hide, conceal', and is therefore usually rendered 'dissemblers' (Moffatt: 'hypocrites'). However, it is
quite common in the dialect of the Samaritans in the general sense of 'wrongdoers'.
16. Pss. 18.5; 116.3.
17. Ps. 18.5.
18. Ezek. 21.3(20.47).
19. Cp. Deut. 32.22.
20. Cp. Isa. 34.9.
21. Suggested by Amos 7.4.
22. Isa. 57.20.
23. I Sam. 2.10; II Sam. 22.14; Ps. 18.14; Job 37.4.
24. Isa. 63.15. The archaic 'welkin' conveys the effect of the Hebrew word, which really means
'eminence, lofty structure', but came in post-Biblical Jewish literature to be the name of one of the
seven heavens.
25. Cp. Zech., ch. 14. The idea is fully developed in the War of the Sons of Light and the Sons of
Darkness. Armed soldiers of heaven are mentioned in Slavonic Enoch 17.1, and in rabbinic literature,
the heavenly hosts are sometimes described as an 'army'.
26. Dan. 9.27.
~~7~~
1. Cp. Isa. 26.1.
2. Restored from Ps. 40.3.
~~8~~
1. Hos. 6.3 (which the poet construed in the light of a similar expression in Prov. 4.18).
2. Prov. 2.16; 7.5.
3. Hos. 4.14.
4. Ps. 31.13(12). Compare 'crackpot'.
5. Ps. 69.22.
6. The phrase is suggested by Hab. 2.15. The traditional ('Masoretic') text reads: 'Woe to him that plies
his neighbor with drink ... so as to gaze on his [Heb. 'their'] nakedness' (me'orehem). However, in the
Dead Sea Commentary on Habakkuk the last word is read slightly differently (viz. me'odehem), to
yield the meaning 'their staggerings', and it is this reading that the poet follows.
7. Prov. 19.21.
8. See note 15 to Hymn No. 6.
9. Deut. 29.17(18).
10. Ezek. 14.3, 4, 7.
11. Isa. 28.11.
12. Ps. 10.2.
13. Extirpation from the community was the statutory punishment in Jewish law for blasphemy or
idolatry; cf. Num. 15.30; Mishnah, Kerithoth ('Extirpations'), i, 1.
14. Ps. 20.9(8).
15. Cp. Isa. 44.18.
16. Heb. 'in the council of the holy beings' (cp. Ps. 89.7). Since the Hebrew word here rendered
'rallied' refers specifically to the marshalling of troops, and since the expression, 'have hearkened unto
me' may very well allude to the Roman practise of reciting the military oath to new recruits, it seems
permissible to recognize a military metaphor, and for that reason the term 'legion' has been used.
17. Hab. 1.4.
18. Ezek. 7.17; 21.12(7).
19. Mic. 1.4.
20. Ps. 65.4.
~~9~~
1. Ex. 21.8.
2. Ps. 57.5.
3. Literally, 'And Thou hast placed me in the drag [Heb. magor; cf. Hab. 1.15], with many fishermen
spreading their nets on the face of the waters [cp. Isa. 19.8] and (with) huntsmen (hunting) after
wrongdoers'.
4. An interpretation of Hab. 1.12.
5. Pss. 57.3; 59.8.
6. Ps. 57.5.
7. Deut. 32.33. A word has evidently fallen out of the Hebrew text.
8. Cp. Isa. 56.1.
9. Nah. 2.12.
10. Pss. 64.4; 120.4; 140.4.
11. Jer. 47.6.
12. Ps. 12.7.
13. Ps. 107.29.
~~10~~
1. An interpretation of a word which in Isa. 32.4 and 35.4 is usually rendered 'rash'. It comes from a
root meaning 'be hasty'.
2. An interpretation of Ps. 40.3(2) which is usually rendered, somewhat incongruously, 'He brought
me up from the pit of tumult'. The poet understood the Hebrew word 'tumult', viz. shaon, in the sense
of the like-sounding Aramaic seyan, 'mud'—an interpretation which, it may be added, was proposed
independently by the present writer many years ago.
3. Literally, 'in the mirings of [their] feet'. The poet employs a very rare term which occurs only in Isa.
14.23 and there means 'broom, besom'. However, ancient commentators and lexicographers connected
it (perhaps correctly) with the like-sounding Hebrew word for 'mud'—the very word used in Ps. 40.3,
which the poet has just quoted. It is evident that he had the same tradition.
4. Prov. 6.19; 10.12.
5. Obadiah 7; Ps. 41.10. Cp. 'com-pani-on'.
6. Ps. 41.10(9).
7. Cp. Prov. 4.24, where similar Hebrew words are rendered 'devious speech'.
8. Restored after Lam. 3.9.
9. Deut. 32.33.
10. The Hebrew expression is a clever adaptation of Hab. 2.3 which the poet read according to the text
preserved in the Greek Septuagint Version rather than in the traditional Jewish recension.
11. Ps. 58.6(5).
12. Isa. 17.11.
13. Lev. 13.51.
14. An adaptation of Lam. 1.14.
15. Lam. 1.3.
16. Zeph. 1.15; Job 30.3; 38.27. The words may also be rendered 'ruin and devastation'.
17. Ps. 11.6 (interpreted metaphorically).
18. Isa. 50.3.
19. Ps. 137.6; Job 29.10.
20. Ps. 102.10(9).
21. Pss. 6.8(7); 31.10(9).
22. Job 3.5. I read bi-merire yom in place of bi-merode yom of the editio princeps.
23. Isa. 45.2; Ps. 107.16.
24. Ps. 18.4.
25. I Sam. 9.15; 20.12-13; II Sam. 7.27, etc.
26. Cp. Isa. 13.4; Ps. 46.7.
27. Ezra 9.8-9.
28. A common expression in post-Biblical Hebrew for the ministering angels who stand before God.
29. The Hebrew text is here faint and fragmentary, so that the rendering is largely a guess. (For banim
of the transcription, which makes no sense, I have emended benam, after Gen. 42.23.)
30. The Hebrew text is here virtually illegible.
31. Suggested by Ezek. 31.3ff. and Dan. 4.8(11).
32. Inspired by Ezek. 31.4, 7.
33. Cp. Isa. 52.1.
34. Adapted from Nah. 1.11.
35. Isa. 19.14 (where the term is used figuratively).
36. Ps. 107.18.
37. Isa. 28.16.
38. I.e., God; cp. Isa. 42.13; Zeph. 3.17.
39. Military ensigns were certainly used in Israelite war-fare (cp. Isa. 5.26; Jer. 4.6), but perhaps the
poet is thinking more specifically of the Roman technical expression, signa tollere, to lift the ensigns',
in the sense of 'to set the army on the march'.
40. Cp. Job 25.6.
41. Isa. 28.15, 18.
~~10a~~
1. Job 31.22.
2. Isa. 6.10.
3. Ps. 22.15(14).
4. An interpretation of an obscure term in Jonah 4.8, usually rendered 'sultry wind'.
~~11~~
1. Isa. 26.6; 30.13; Ps. 139.6; Prov. 18.19.
2. For the sake of clarity, I have slightly altered the structure of this sentence. In the original it reads:
Thou hast set me as a strong tower on a high wall, and hast planted my structure firmly on a rock, and
eternal foundations serve as my basis, and all my walls are a tested bastion that cannot be shaken'.
3. Scholars differ about the meaning of these lines. The Hebrew says literally, 'And Thou, O my God,
hast given (provided) it for the 'afim to the holy council'. The most natural meaning of 'afim is 'those
that wing their way'. In that case the picture would be that of the spirit soaring to transcendental
heights and alighting at last atop a high tower. One may compare the great sentence in The Mirror of
Simple Souls (Div. iv, ch, 1): 'This [soul] is the eagle that flies high, so right high and yet more high
than doth any bird, for she is feathered with fine Love'. Cp. also Edgar Lee Masters, Spoon River
Anthology ("Lydia Humphrey"): 'I knew of the eagle souls that flew high in the sunlight/ Above the
spire of the church'.
4. Cf. Isa. 50.4.
5. Literally, 'in Thy covenant".
6. In the Didascalia Apostolorum (p. 45, ed. Achelis-Fleming), the bishop is called 'Father in God'.
7. Zech. 3.8.
8. Ps. 92.11, etc.
9. Isa. 17.13; Pss. 1.4; 35.5.
10. Cp. Isa. 60.19; Rev. 21.23, 25; 22.6. The Talmud says that the light of the Messianic sun will be
sevenfold strong; TB Sanhedrin, 91b.
11. Isa. 60.20.
~~12~~
1. Ex. 15.11.
2. Prov. 4.26.
~~13~~
1. Restored on the basis of Ps. 9.11(10).
~~14~~
1. Isa. 35.7; 49.10.
2. Isa. 41.19.
3. Jer. 17.8.
4 Cp. Dan. 4.9(12); Ezek. 31.6. Literally, 'Its stock (stump) is trampled by wayfarers'.
5 These lines may also be understood in the sense that the holy tree is now being ravaged and
despoiled by birds and beasts (i.e., by the impious), and its roots are being carelessly trampled.
6. Cp. Ezek. 31.9.
7. Cp. Isa. 17.11, where RSV renders the verb as 'make them grow'. Our poet, however, took it, as did
later Jewish commentators, to be a variant of the common word for 'entangle'.
8. Ps. 103.20.
9. Gen. 3.24.
10. Cp. Enoch 24.4-25.5; 28.1-3; 30.1; 35.3ff.
11. I restore: 'im [shef]'a shehaqim.
12. Literally, 'without recognizing (it)'.
13. Literally, 'though he has thoughts (about it)?'
14. Cp. Isa. 18.2, 7, where the versions so render the rare word b-z-', which is probably to be read
here.
15. Isa. 57.20.
16. Cp. Deut. 28.12. Literally, 'that they (i.e., the rains) depart not'.
17. Jer. 47.2.
18. Cp. Isa. 8.7.
19. The reference is to the subterranean springs which suddenly burst forth at the foot of the hills to
relieve the summer drought; see G. A. Smith, Historical Geography of the Holy Land, p. 77.
20. Ezek. 21.3 (20.47).
21. Ex. 15.10. Cp. also Enoch 4.89.
22. For the Hebrew idiom, cp. Isa. 28.17.
23. Isa. 5.2.
24. Isa. 40.24.
25. Jer. 17.6; 48.6.
26. Hos. 10.8.
27. Isa. 5.6.
28. Isa. 5.2, 4 (commonly rendered 'wild grapes').
29. Isa. 17.11.
30. Pss. 42.6, 12(11); 43.5.
31. In the Hebrew, this is a combination of Ps. 77.7(6) and Ps. 88.6(5). In both passages, a word h-p-s
is employed. In the first, it actually means 'search out' (happes); in the second, 'free, quit' (hophshi).
But our author evidently equated it in both instances with a root akin to Arabic hafatha, 'be low,
sordid'. In the Ras Shamra texts, of the fourteenth century B.C., the cognate term h-p-sh-t denotes the
'charnel house' of the netherworld.
32. Ps. 88.4(3).
33. Ps. 107.5; Jonah 2.8.
34. Jer. 20.9.
35. Pss. 42.7(6); 43.5.
36. Job 31.22.
37. Isa. 50.4.
38. Literally, 'my circumcised lips'; see note 1 to Hymn 17.
~~15~~
1. Cp. Isa. 42.13.
2. II Sam. 22.5.
3. Cp. Ps. 6.7(6).
4. There is a slight error in the text: for k'sh we must read k'shn; cp. Ex. 19.18.
5. Lam. 2.18.
6. Ps. 31.11; Lam. 2.11.
7. Cp. Zeph. 1.15; Job 30.3; 38.27.
8. Literally, 'supplication'; but the Hebrew word is connected with the idea of grace.
9. Jer. 50.34; 51.36.
10. Cp. Manual of Discipline, iv, 7; I Peter 5.4.
11. I restore the Hebrew to read: [marpe' le-mah] as makkati; cp. Isa. 30.26.
12. Ps. 27.10.
13. Cp. Num. 11.12.
14. Job 34.15; Eccl. 3.20.
15. The text reads, 'How can I stumble' (Heb. ekshol), which makes no sense. A slight emendation
(viz. askil) yields the meaning given in the translation; cp. Hymns, xi.28; xii.13.
16. John 1.3.
~~16~~
1. Ezek. 38.12, 13.
2. Jer. 17.8; Ps. 1.3.
3. Ezek. 17.8, 23; 36.8, 30.
4. The Hebrew words could also mean, 'those that espouse (lit. the sons of) Thy truth', but it seems to
me that a pointed contrast is intended between the lowly estate of the Brotherhood and the worldly
wealth of the impious. For the Hebrew expression, cp. Pss. 86.16; 116.16.
5. Cf. Manual, v.20-24.
6. Restoring yk[bd]. This supplies the necessary contrast between the 'lowly servant' and the 'high and
mighty'.
7. Philo (Quod Omnis Probus Liber, 11) says of the Essenes, a group akin to, or identical with, the
Qumran Brotherhood: 'They do not lay up treasure of gold and silver, nor acquire real estate out of a
desire for revenues, but provide themselves only with the bare necessities of life'. Similarly, Josephus
observes (War, II, viii, 2) that 'they despise riches', and Pliny (Natural History, v. 17) that 'they live
without money'.
8. I.e., in contrast to the 'running streams' and produce
of the earth on which the impious rely. 9 Hos. 14.6.
10. Cp. Ps. 103.20; Hymns, viii.11.
11. Final judgment with the aid of the angels is foretold in the Book of Enoch (e.g., 53.3; 63.1; 93.15)
and in the Qumran Sermon on the Last Jubilee; cf. also Hymns iii.3; vi.29f.; War, xv.14. Based on
Zech. 14.3, 5.
12. Cp. Prov. 7.27.
13. Restored simply ad sensum.
14. Job 3.10.
~~17~~
1. Literally, 'circumcision of lips'. The expression is modelled on the Biblical 'one of uncircumcised
lips'= 'stammerer' (Ex. 6.12, 30).
2. Isa. 41.14.
3. Literally, 'those versed in concerted song'. The Jewish Daily Morning Service speaks of the angelic
choir as 'all of them opening their mouths in holiness and purity, in song and chant, blessing, praising,
glorifying, and proclaiming both the awe and the holiness and the sovereignty of God ... all of them
giving accord to one another to praise their Creator in tranquillity of spirit and with holy chant; all of
them taking up word as one and saying, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts; the fullness of the
whole earth is His glory'.
4. On regeneration as a mystical experience, see E. Underhill, Mysticism (ed. 1955), pp. 53f.
~~18~~
1. II Sam. 22.3, 47; Pss. 19.15(14); 28.1; 62.3, 7(2, 6); 144.1, etc.
2. Lam. 2.18.
3. Job 3.10.
4. Cp. Avesta, Yasht 31.20, etc.
5. Cp. Isa. 35.10; 51.11.
~~19~~
1. The metaphor is taken from childbirth.
2. Cp. Ps. 138.3.
3. Restored from Ps. 118.15.
4. Cp. note 7 to Column XVII.
5-6. Cp. Hymn of the Initiants, 1-10.
7. I.e., their several governing constellations.
8. Literally, 'I have heard faithfully (reliably)'.
9. Cp. Note 11 to Hymn 6.
[From this point it becomes impossible to distinguish the separate hymns. The notes are therefore
geared to the columns of the original text.]
~~ Column XIII ~~
1. The restoration is tentative, but it is obvious from the sequel that these lines must have recited the
doctrine that all things have been endowed with spirit and intelligence wherewith to perceive the truth
and reality of God. This is scarcely to be confused with the later more elaborate doctrine of the
Gnostics.
2. Cp. Manual of Discipline, iv.7; I Peter 5.4.
3. I.e., the angels. For this term, cp. Hymns, x.28; Enoch 24.6.
4. The reference is to the doctrine of the eschatological renewal of the world; see Analytical Index, E.
3, Rewards (a).
5. Literally, 'Abolishing ancient existences and [es-tabli]shing the things that (currently) obtain in the
world'.
6. Cp. Zech. 3.8. In rabbinic usage, the term is applied to a great scholar, i.e., a 'prodigy' of learning or
piety.
7. Isa. 66.24. (Cp. also Dan. 12.2.)
8. Restored on the basis of Jos. 23.14.
9. Cp. Ps. 111.2 (which the author must have understood to mean 'sought out for their several
purposes', rather than 'sought out [or, studied] by all who have pleasure in them', as usually rendered).
~~ Column XIV ~~
1. Restored on the basis of Ezra 9.8.
2. Another possible restoration is: 'men of truth and discernment]'.
3. Restored from Ex. 19.6.
4. The fourth of the Eighteen Benedictions which form a staple element of all Jewish devotions ends:
'Blessed art Thou, O Lord, Who gracest man with knowledge'.
5. Cp. Manual of Discipline, i.3—4.
6. Probably in the technical sense of admission to the Brotherhood; cp. Hymn of the Initiants, note 32.
7. Cp. Manual, ix.20.
8. Cp. Manual, iv.l.
9. See above, note 4.
10. Hos. 14.5.
~~ Column XV ~~
1. Hos. 14.5.
2. Ps. 37.23; Prov. 20.24.
3. Josephus (Ant., Xlll, 5, 9) says of the Essenes that they believed all things were pre-ordained.
4. Literally, Thou hast prepared him for the Era of Favor'; see Analytical Index, E. 1 (c).
5. Isa. 45.17.
6. See Analytical Index, E. 1 (a).
~~ Column XVI ~~
1. Isa. 6.3.
2. In general, I here follow the restorations suggested by J. Licht (The Thanksgiving Scroll [1957], p.
202), except that in line 4 I read be-Toratechdh for his be-goralechah ('in Thy lot') and in line 5 I read
[wa-te'ammesehu] for his [wa-teyasserehu] and, at the end, be-kol mi[s'adaw] for his be-kol
mi[shpatechah] ('in all Thy judgments').
3. Jer. 32.19.
4. On this concept, cf. T.H. Gaster, Thespis2 (1961), pp. 288f.
5. Cp. Manual, iii.20ff.
6. Exod. 34.5, 7-9.
7. The reference is to Ex. 34.53., just quoted. According to the Talmud (Rosh Ha-Shanah, 17b), this
formula was prescribed by God as that which Israel was to repeat when entreating forgiveness of sins.
For that reason, it runs like a refrain through the Confessions on the Day of Atonement.
~~ Columns XVII-XVIII ~~
1. Ex. 34.5ff.
2. Deut. 32.22.
3. Cp. Ps. 102.29(28).
4. Ex. 34.6.
5. Cp. Mic. 7.19, and see T. H. Gaster, Festivals of the Jewish Year (1953), pp. 121-23.
6. The reference is to the two spirits described in the Manual of Discipline, cols, iii-iv.
7. The terms employed in the Hebrew (viz. tefillah and tahanun) denote in Jewish usage statutory and
spontaneous prayer.
8. An adaptation of Dan. 9.7, the Hebrew word zeda-qah, which there means 'righteousness', being
taken in in its later sense of 'charity, bounty'. Similarly, the common phrase, To Thy name pertains
blessing', is taken to mean 'And of Thy nature it is to bestow blessing'.
9. The restoration is based on the obviously implied contrast between covenants made by men and
those made by God.
10. Isa. 60.19-20.
11. The clue to this very difficult passage is to be found, I think, in the sequence of the phrases, The
hands of Thy servant were steadied' and 'that he might triumph in glory'; for these expressions hark
back to the incident related in Ex. 17.8-13. During the battle against Amalek at Rephidim, 'when
Moses held up his hand, Israel triumphed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek triumphed. But
Moses' hands grew heavy ... so Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands on either side; and his hands were
steady until the going down of the sun'. The allusion, therefore, is to Moses, though the poet obviously
uses the Biblical expressions in an extended sense.
12. Isa. 61.1. (The prototype of the term 'gospel'!)
13. Isa. 61.2-3.
14. Ezek. 11.19; 36.26.
15. Heb. Or-Tom; cp. Introduction, p. 21.
=======
Fragments
~~1~~
1. For this designation, cp. Manual, vii.6; xii; MFC ii.8; Blessings, iii.6; Oration, ii.8; War, vii.6; x.ii;
AL(a).
2. Cp. Judges 13.18.
3. Cp. Hymns i.30, 33; iii.23; vi.ii; x.20.
4. Cp. Hymns xii.12; frag. x.3.
5. Cp. Hymns x.12; xii.31; frag. iv.ii
6. Cp. Hymns iv.19; vi.22.
7. Literally, 'in guilt of wickedness', cp. Hymns vi.22.
8. Literally, 'through Eras of Wrath'. For this eschatological term, cp. Analytical Index, E. 1 (a).
9. Cp. Hymns i.18, 32; ii.7; iv.36; ix.10, 12; xi.8, 12.
10. Cp. Hymns iii.30; vi.6; ix.14.
11. Cp. Hymns i.21; iii.24; iv.29; xii.26, 32; frag, xi.7 (?).
12. Cp. Hymns xi.7.
13. Cp. Hymns xhi.18-19.
14. Literally, 'in my time(s)'; cf. Analytical Index, E. 1.
~~2~~
1. Literally, 'in conformity with the abundance of Thy mercies'.
2. In the Hebrew, the image appears to be that of a city under siege.
3. Literally, 'mediators of knowledge (gnosis)'; cp. Hymns ii.13.
4. Literally, 'men who reprimand them in accordance with truth'.
5. For this use of the Hebrew word ('abnayim), cp. Jer, 18.3.
6. The picture is that of a craftsman inspecting his products and giving them the stamp of his
approval; cp. T. H. Gaster, Myth, Legend, and Custom in the Old Testament (1969), §6.
7. The restoration is due to J. Licht, though he understands the Hebrew words in the sense of 'bandage
his wound(s)', which misses the metaphor.
8. Cp. Lev. 12.8; 16.30; Num. 8.21.
9. See Analytical Index, F. 2 (c).
~~3~~
1. Prov. 3.17.
2. Cp. Joel 2.26.
3. Cp. Jer. 18.22; Pss. 140.6; 142.4.
4. The subject is supplied from the subsequent reference to 'its traps ... its net'.
5. Cp. Ps. 35.7; Prov. 29.5; Lam. 1.3.
6. Cp. Pss. 55.9; 107.25; 148.8.
7. The restoration is a mere guess.
8. Cp. Job 18.9.
9. Literally, 'every inclination to deceit'.
10. I Sam. 2.3; cp. Manual, iii.15; Hymns i.26; xii.10.
11. Cp. II Chron. 20.6.
12. Tentative restoration: [lifqod kol bene 'asha]mah; cp. Hymns v.7; vi.30; vii.11.
13. Cp. Ps. 59.4.
14. Reading (with Yadin) we-hadal zadon. The rendering attempts to reproduce the imagery of the
latter word; commonly rendered 'arrogance, presumption', it actually derives from the root z-y-d,
'seethe, bubble up', and refers to the seething of wickedness within the soul.
15. For the sentiment, cp. HabC, xi.l. The metaphor is taken from the fact that filth and insanitary
conditions (niddah) lead to symptoms of disease (tahalu'im).
16. Literally, 'judgments of plague/stroke'; cp. Hymns i.33; xi.8.
17. Cp. 'Zadokite' Document, ii.4.
~~4~~
1. Restored from Hab. 2.1.
2. Zech. 3.2. The word here rendered 'rebuke' carries the meaning 'exorcize', as in the incident in The
Memoirs of the Patriarchs where Abram expels Pharaoh's sickness. The word rendered 'devil' is satan,
here used generically, as in Hymns frag, xiv.3; Blessings, L8.
3. Cp. Hymns ix.14-15.
4. Cp. Jer. 4.19; 48.26.
5. Ps. 22.15.
6. Restoring tentatively, [kissi]timoh.
7. I Sam. 2.3; cp. Manual, iii.15; Hymns 126; xii.10.
8. A probable supplement is qisse [haron], lit. 'the times of (Divine) Wrath'. For this eschatological
term, cp. Analytical Index, E. 1 (a).
~~5~~
1. Cp. Hymns i.23, 26, 30.
2. Cp. Hymns iii.21; frag, vii.11 (?).
3. Cp. War, xii.7; Hymns frag, xxiv.2; HFCi 9.12; Bless-ings, i.5. I
4. War, x.14.
5. The manuscript's unintelligible tbw/yt is, I think, a scribal error for t<sh>byt; cp. Ezek. 23.48.
6. Restoring ro[gez], after Job 3.19. An alternative, suggested by J. Licht, is ri[sh'ah], when the
meaning will be, "Thou wilt lay waste (every) place of wickedness',
7. Cp. Manual, iv.13; Hymns ii.15; xi.22.
8. Literally, 'for the generations of eternity'; cp. Hymns i.16.
9. Tentatively restored: li-me[humah] rabbah; cp. Hymns xii.8.
10. The obscure word 'ninam is here interpreted from the Heb. '-n-n (and Arabic cognate) meaning 'to
feel inner grief, le-chalah being regarded as adverbial, as in, e.g., Exod. 11.1.
11. Restoring, with J. Licht, we-lif[hod]; cp. Manual, iv.2; Hymns x.34; frag. iv.9.
12. Ps. 31.22; cp. War, xiv.9.
13. Literally, 'an ear of flesh ... a mind of flesh'. Perhaps the poet is referring to a personal, not a
general, revelation.
14. Cp. Hymns iv.13, 21.
15. Literally, Thou hast given to the heart of ... an understanding of the Time (Era) of Witness'. For
this eschatological term, cp. Hymns, frag, lix.3. For the concept, cp. Enoch, xcvii.4; xcix.8; c.10-11.
The missing word may be be-[hirechah], Thine elect, chosen ones'.
16. Cp. Hymns x.35.
17. The expression is adapted from Isa. 24.21.
18. Cp. War, iii.6. See also Analytical Index, D. 3.
19. Restored after 'Zadokite' Document, iv.7.
20. See Analytical Index, A. 7.
=======
Poems From A Qumran Hymnal
1. David
1. Cp. I Sam. 16.11. But here the word has special point, because kings were commonly required to be
taller than any of their subjects. This is said explicitly of Saul (I Sam. 10.23), of Xerxes (Herodotus,
vii, 187) and of the kings of Ethiopia (Athenaeus, xiii, 20). In the Akkadian 'Epic of Creation' (Enuma
elish, i.99), Marduk, who assumes sovereignty over the gods, is said to be of exceptional stature.
Conversely, in the Canaanite Poem of Baal (II AB, ii.59-60), the young Ashtar is rejected as successor
to Baal because he is too small. See T. H. Gaster, Myth, Legend, and Custom in the Old Testament
(1969), §127.
2. The Hebrew word combines the notions of youngest and least significant. Indeed, a late midrash
asserts that David was the latter only, the youngest son of Jesse having been Elihu, mentioned in I
Chron. 27.18. See L. Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, vi.249, n. 23.
3. David is here described as the shepherd and 'ruler' of Jesse's lambs and kids (not even full-grown
goats !) in contemptuous contradistinction to his eventual role as shepherd and ruler of God's flock.
For 'shepherd's 'king', cp., in the Old Testament, II Sam. 5.2; 7.7; Jer. 3.15. Mesopotamian and
Homeric kings likewise affected this title.
4. Literally, 'cannot testify1, but the word has the connotation of oral deposition; and that is here the
point.
5. That is, my songs of praise.
6. That is, my proficiency in tending the sheep. (The word does not mean simply 'my works' in the
sense of 'my compositions'.)
7. Cp. I Sam. 16.12.
8. Cp. I Sam. 16.7ff.
9. Cp. Gen. 39.6.
10. Cp. I Sam. 16.7.
11. Cp. I Sam. 16.8; Ps. 78.70-71.
12. For this title cp. I Sam. 9.16; 13.14; 25.30; Isa. 55.4.
=======
II. Invitation to Grace After Meals
1. Literally, 'multitude'.
2. Literally, 'confess the majesty of His name'. The 'name' in Hebrew signifies also the outward
manifestation.
3. Verses 1-2, missing in the Qumran manuscript, are here supplied from the Syriac version.
4. Literally, 'unite your (individual) selves'.
5. Literally, 'of the Most High'. The meaning is that there is a supernal power which works salvation.
6. The Hebrew means simply, 'join in fellowship together', the expression being modelled (as again in
v.13) on Ps. 122.3. To render, 'form a community', and to draw therefrom a reference to the Qumran
Brotherhood, strains the syntax.
7. Literally, 'multitude'.
8. The word, 'Lord' (Heb. 'Adon), has special point: the meaning is that although the Most High is the
particular Lord of Israel, His sovereignty is universal.
9. Literally, 'avow the majesty of the Most High'.
10. For the Hebrew expression (though in a slightly different sense), cp. Num. 4.3; Ps. 20.4.
11. Cp. Deut. 8.10.
12. The manuscript has 'eyes', but the verb is in the singular. Hence the text must be corrected in
accordance with the Syriac version.
13. For this expression cp. Isa. 32.2; Jer. 14.8; 15.11; 30.7; Ps. 37.39. In the Qumran texts it has a
quasi-eschatological meaning, as in Dan. 12.1.
14. Literally, 'establish/upraise the horn'—a common Biblical expression for 'triumph'. It is not clear
whether this refers to the triumph of Israel in general (as in Ezek. 29.21; Ps. 148.14) or, more
specifically, to the raising up of a future Messianic King (as in Ps. 132.17). I think the former is more
probable; see next note.
15. Literally 'and from Israel a judge of peoples'. It is not clear whether this means that God will raise
up from Israel one who will be judge of all peoples, or that He Himself is such a judge. In light of Ps.
67.4, whence the expression is taken and where it refers to God, I think the latter more probable, the
strict translation then being, '(Bless the Lord) ... Who judges (all) peoples from Israel'. Nor do I think
that 'judges' here refers to the Final Judgment; the Hebrew word means simply 'governs'. The
sentiment is that of Isa. 2.3.
16. This expression echoes Exod. 33.7. The verse, missing from the manuscript, is here supplied from
the Syriac version.
=======
III. Plea for Grace
1. Jer. 18.19.
2. From v. 13 it is apparent that the poet is praying for relief from sickness, albeit only metaphorical.
The verse therefore harks back to the words of I Kings 8.38f. (=II Chron. 6.29): 'If plague or sickness
befall them, then hear the prayer or supplication of every man ... as each one spreads out his hands (lit.
palms) towards this house; hear it in heaven Thy dwelling and forgive, and act' (NEB). For the
expression, 'Thy holy abode', cp. also Deut. 26.15; Jer. 25.30; Zech 2.17; Ps. 68.6; II Chron. 30.27.
3. Cp. Isa. 37.17; Pss. 17.6; 31.3; 86.1.
4. Cp. I Sam. 1.27; Ps. 106.15.
5. Reading tippare'a (3rd sg. fern.), and taking the subject to be nafshi ('my soul') in the preceding line.
Cp. Wolsey's 'If I had served my God with half the zeal/I served my king, He would not in mine age/
have left me naked to mine enemies': Shakespeare Henry VIII, iii,2.
6. Vocalizing gemuli, rather than gemule, as in the editio Princeps,
7. Reading yashub, rather than yashib, as in the editio Princeps.
8. This is the epithet applied to God in the traditional blessing on hearing bad news; cf. Mishnah,
Berachoth, ix.2.
9. Cp. Ps. 143.2.
10. Cp. Ps. 119.34.
11. Cp. Ps. 119.7, 108.
12. The expression is suggested by Ps. 145.5.
13. Cp. Ps. 25.7.
14. The expression is borrowed from the law concerning persons afflicted with skin diseases: Lev.
13.6, 17; 14.48. The words rendered 'noisome plague' there mean specifically 'foul blot, blotch'. Here
they may be understood either literally or metaphorically.
15. Cp. Lev. 14.43.
16. Cp. Hos. 9.16; Job 18.16.
17. Emending after the Syriac version, kabbir for the kabod of the Qumran text. The point is that the
might of God is contrasted with the ineffective power of men.
18. Vocalizing shallemah (imperat., with 3rd sg. fem. objective suffix), rather than shelemah (adj.
'complete'), as in the editio princeps.
19. Cp. Job 17.9.
20. Cp. Pss. 3.5; 120.1; Job 9.16.
21. Cp. Ps. 3.6.
22. Cp. Ps. 102.5.
23. Cp. Ps. 3.6.
24. Cp. Pss. 40.18; 70.16; 144.2, etc.
25. The Hebrew word bosheth, usually rendered 'shame', also means 'disappointment', and this is the
meaning here, in contrast to the preceding affirmation (v. 17), 'From Thee comes my confidence, O
Lord'.
26. Cp. Ps. 25.20.
27. Cp. Ps. 25.22.
28. Heb. hasidecha, usually rendered 'Thy devout ones'; but hesed also denotes the mutual loyalty
involved in a covenantal relationship.
=======
IV. Supplication
1. For the sentiment, cp. Isa. 38.18-19, The netherworld cannot confess Thee; Death cannot shout Thy
praise ... The living, the living it is who (alone) can confess Thee'.
2. Job 12.10.
3. Literally, 'acts of sedaqah'. This word, which normally means 'righteousness', is here used in the
post-Biblical sense of 'charity, benevolence'.
4. Cp. Pss. 5.12; 69.37; 119.132.
5. Ruth 2.20.
6. Ps. 103.6.
7. Ps. 103.4.
8. Ps. 92.3.
9. Cp. Isa. 50.1.
10. Cp. Isa. 30.2; Pss. 368; 57.2(1). 11- Cp. Targums to Deut. 15.7; Pss. 27.14; 31.25. For an
analogous expression, cp. 'Zadokite' Document, iii.3. 12. Num. 14.9; Jer. 33.8; Ps. 51.4. 13 Jer. 33.8;
Ezek. 36.3.
14. Cp. in the 'Eighteen Benedictions' of the Jewish liturgy: 'Thou hast vouchsafed knowledge to man'.
Here, the 'knowledge' is virtually gnosis.
15. For the quasi-Aramaic phrasing in the original, cp. Targum to Hos. 5.5; 14.2.
16. Heb. satan, but here probably in the sense of a, rather than the, satan, i.e., an adversary spirit. For
this usage, common in later magical texts, cp. Hymns frags, iv.6; xiv.3; Blessings, ii.8. For the
sentiment, cp. Ps. 119.113.
17. This expression, familiar especially from the New Testament (Mat. 10.1; 12.43; Mark 1.23ff.;
3.11, 30; 5.2, 8, 13; 6.7; 9.25; Luke 4.33, 36; 6.18; 8.29; 9.42-, 11.24; Acts 5.16) and from later
rabbinic writings, is not found elsewhere in the Dead Sea Scrolls thus far published.
18. Literally, Thou, O Lord, art (the object of) my praise'. What this means is not simply that the
writer extols God, but that the indwelling spirit of God is the source of his human worth and esteem.
This contrasts with the notion of demonic possession.
19. Ps. 25.5.
=======
V. The City of God
1. Cp. Prov. 10.1.
2. Deut. 6.5.
3. Ps. 112.6.
4. Heb., by hendiadys, 'peace and longing hope'. Possibly, however, the meaning is that Zion hopes
for peace; cp. Jer. 8.15; 14.19.
5. Isa. 56.1; Lam. 3.22.
6. Literally, 'for generation upon generation'.
7. Literally, 'generations'.
8. Literally, 'would suck the teat of thy glory'; cp. Isa. 66.11.
9. Suggested by the meaning traditionally assigned to a rare word ('-k-s) in Isa. 3.16.
10. The reference is to gentiles; cf. Manual, v.6; 'Zadokite' Document, iv.3; Isa. 14.1; 50.5; 56.3;
Zeph. 2.15.
11. Gen. 49.18.
12. Isa. 66.10. For tmyk, at the end of the line (which cannot mean 'thy perfect ones', since this would
require tmymyk), I emend to the very similar tmyd, 'always'. The scribe evidently miscopied.
13. For the wording, cp. Ezek. 19.5; 37.11; Ps. 9.9; Prov. 10.28; 11.7; Job 8.13; 14.19.
14. Imitated from Job 4.7. (Possibly, 'righteousness' [sdq] is a scribal error for 'a righteous man'
[sdyk].)
15. Literally, 'roundabout, on all sides'.
16. Cp. Targum Onqelos to Num. 10.35.
17. Literally, 'pleasant in ...'
18. The causative form of the verb (if indeed it is a verb rather than simply the adverb meaning
'above') indicates that the image is that of an incense-offering whose aroma rises.
19. Deut. 6.5—the complement to 'with all my might' in v.l.
20. Cp. Dan. 9.24.
21. Literally 'blessings of men held in honor'. I take the genitive to be objective, rather than subjective.
Zion is envisaged as a conquering hero receiving plaudits.
22. Literally, 'receive the vision'. This, I think, means 'receive what has been envisaged', rather than
'comprehend the prophecy'.
23. The reference is more specifically to Dan. 9.24.
24. This line is obscure, involving a word—ttb'k—of uncertain meaning and seemingly anomalous
form. My translation (which is provisional) is reached by taking it as a parallel to qh 'receive', rather
than to dubar, 'spoken', in the preceding line, by parsing it as a noun (on the pattern of talmud, takrik,
etc.), and by deriving it from a root akin to Arabic t-b-', 'follow', in the sense of 'consequence'.
25. Literally, 'in thy glory/honor my soul will rejoice'. I take the 'glory/honor' to be that which will
eventually be restored.
=======
VI. Morning Hymn
1. Cp. Ezek. 28.23 and the opening words of the Jewish Kaddish-prayer.
2. Literally, 'from one generation to another'. 3. Cp. Ps. 96.6; I Chron. 16.27. Here the reference is,
more specifically, to the splendor of sunrise.
4. The reference is to the swelling of tides at daybreak— an interpretation which I owe to my
daughter, Corinna. The glow of dawn forms the foreground, the rush of the tides the background, of
the daily theophany, when the sun seems to rise out of the ocean.
5. The image is that of courtiers in attendance on a king. For the wording, cp. Ps. 89.15. The unfolding
scene at daybreak attests both the beneficence of God and His constancy (truth; Heb. 'emeth) in
maintaining His creation.
6. The manifestation of God's presence in the sunrise bespeaks His sovereignty over the world,
but—in contrast to that of earthly monarchs—His is a sovereignty founded on Justice and Right. For
the wording, cp. Ps. 97.2. (The manuscript reads, 'Truth and Justice and Right', but the word Truth
overloads the meter; it is simply vertical dittography from the preceding line.)
7. Gen. 1.4, 18; Enoch 41.8.
8. Literally, 'by the knowledge of His heart/mind'.
9. At first blush, this line might be rendered, 'established the dawn'; but the Hebrew word for
'established' (viz. hekin) here bears a technical sense, attested in Prov. 4.18 and Hos. 6.3 (which many
modern scholars needlessly emend), and refers to the sun's eventually standing at the meridian. (The
cognate Akkadian kanu is similarly employed of a celestial body's reaching its zenith.)
10. Cp. Job 38.7. The reason why the poet here introduces parenthetically a 'flashback' to the original
creation is that, in Jewish belief, the birth of each new day is in fact a repetition of that primordial
event. Says the Yoser-hymn for sabbaths and festivals: 'He reneweth every day continually the work
of the Creation'.
11. For the wording, cp. Hymns xiii.11.
12. Cp. Ps. 65.12 (where, incidentally, for the anomalous shenath, 'year', we should perhaps read,
ma'anoth, 'furrows'). Again a picture suggested by the landscape revealed at sunrise.
13. The following verses are taken from Jer. 10.12-13; 51.15-16; Ps. 135.7. Note that knowledge and
understanding are mentioned in Exod. 31.3 as the special qualities of the human artisan, Bezalel.
14. Cp. also Enoch 41.3. The reference is here more specifically to the cool breezes at
dawn—especially welcome in the torrid heat of the Dead Sea area!
15. The reference is more specifically to the electric storms which, in the Holy Land and in Syria,
presage the onset of the 'early rains' in late September. Native Arabs have a saying, 'The lightning is a
token of rain'; cp. T. H. Gaster, Myth, Legend, and Custom in the Old Testament (1969, 1975), §201.
16. A picture suggested more specifically by the rising of mountain mists in the early morning.
=======
Lament for Zion
1. Reading [dibre ha-te'u]dah, with reference especially to Deut. 30.19; 31.28.
2. Cp. Deut. 28.32.
3. Again a reference to the wording of the 'Great Com-mination'; cp. Deut. 28.20.
4. Restoring, [hefarnu] et berito; cp. Deut. 31.14, 26.
5. Isa. 64.10.
6. Ibidem.
7. A tentative restoration, after Psalms of Solomon 2.2. This detail is mentioned likewise in the
medieval dirge, Zechor asher 'asah sar, chanted in the synagogue on the Fast of Ab (verse 6).
8. Or, ['meal-offering and libation have been cut off']; cp. Joel 1.8.
9. Cp. Zeph. 2.15.
10. Restoring we'en ma[ssil]; cp. Isa. 5.29; Pss. 7.3; 50.22. 11. Cp. Lam. 1.4.
12. Cp. Jer. 9.10; 1022; 34.22.
13. Restored after Jer. 6.8.
14. Cp. Jer. 38.4; similar is Ps. 142.5.
15. Tentatively restored after Isa, 53.4.
16. Literally, 'and all our foes [ ]'. Restored after Lam. 1.15.
17. Cp. Isa. 59.12.
18. Ps. 78.21.
19. I.e., the corpses of the slain defile the holiness of the city. Cp. Baruch 3.10. Cp. also Isa. 59.10.
20. Literally, 'cruel women'; cp. Lam. 4.3.
21. Restored ad sensum; cp. I Maccabees 1.26.
22. Cp. Lam. 1.16.
23. Restoring, [hibbequ] 'ashpotot (= 'ashpatot); cp. Lam. 4.5.
24. Cp. Lam. 4.2.
25. Cp. Lam. 4.5.
26. Cp. Ezek. 16.10-13. (The reading in the editio prin-ceps is egregiously wrong!)
27. Cp. Lam. 1.1.
28. Ibidem.
29. Cp. Isa. 54.6. My rendering seeks to reproduce a play on words ('azubah-'asubah) in the Hebrew.
30. There is a double entente in the original, the Hebrew word '-q-r denoting both the razing of a
structure and the barrenness of a woman. The words inserted in parentheses are designed to bring out
the point. The same metaphor is employed in the Babylonian recension of a traditional dirge for the
Fast of Ab: S. Baer, ed., 'Abodat Israel, 96, line 8.
31. Allegro's reading, u-kmskkt, could mean only 'like a woman -who plaits, inter-weaves', but this
makes no sense, and his interpretation of the word as a passive participle meaning who is shut away is
impossible. It seems to me that the correct reading is u-kmsknt, 'like a woman left beggared', i.e.
dispossessed.
32. Cp. Gen. 26.35; I Sam. 1.10; Isa. 22.4; Ezek. 21.1133. Cp. Jer. 6.26; Amos 8.10; Zech. 12.10.
34. Lam. 1.2.
35. Restoring [heli]la[h] we-hagetah; cp. Isa. 16.7; Jer. 48.31.
=======
Hymns of Triumph
~~I~~
1. Cp. Ps. 148.13. Literally, 'sing hallelujahs to the name of the Lord'. The name is the visible
presence.
2. Cp. Pss. 104.39; 144.20.
3. Cp. Deut. 33.28; Prov. 3.20.
4. Cp. Isa. 60.18. 'Their' refers to the righteous.
5. Cp. Lev. 26.4; Deut 11.17; Ezek. 34.27; Ps. 67.7.
6. Cp. Ps. 22.7.
~~II~~
1. Cp. Ps. 69.35.
2. There may be a subtle point in this phrase: in Job 38.7 it is said that the stars of morning chanted in
chorus at the dawn of creation. Now it will be the stars that have been glimmering through Israel's
dark night that will do the same.
3. Cp. Nahum 2.1.
4. Cp. Ps. 92.10.
5. Cp. Ps. 104.31.
3 - The Mercy Of God (A Prayer for Intercession)
O Thou Who art all-good, whose mercies never
fail; Thou Who art all-merciful, whose graces
never end: ever have we hoped in Thee.
Jewish Daily Service
=======
Introduction
The Prayer for Intercession is preserved in an incomplete scroll which also contains liturgical pieces
for the various days of the week. It is followed immediately by a rubric reading Hymns for the
Sabbath Day. On the back of the scroll are inscribed two words—evidently a librarian's
notation—which mean literally 'words of the luminaries (heavenly lights)'. The purport of this legend
has yet to be discovered. It has been proposed by the first editor of the document that this prayer was
believed to be one uttered by the heavenly lights as part of the celestial liturgy of the angels. The
concept of such a liturgy is certainly well attested in Jewish mystical literature, (*) and fragments of
two extracts from an angelic order of service have indeed turned up at Qumran. (†)
---[*] See S. Baer, Seder 'Abodath Israel (1868), p. 120; L. Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, v (1947), p.
25.
[†] See below, pp. 285ff.
---It seems difficult, however, to reconcile this explanation with the marked emphasis throughout our
text on the particular fortunes and misfortunes of Israel, or with the fact that in speaking of the latter,
the writer constantly says 'we, us, our'. The suggestion may therefore be offered that the enigmatic
legend is simply the equivalent of 'matins', the prayer being designed for recital in the early morning
service. In support of this suggestion, it may be pointed out that an essential and ancient element of
the traditional Jewish morning service is indeed the blessing of God as creator of the luminaries (yoser
ha-ME'OROTH, the same Hebrew word), and that the Mishnah says explicitly (Megillah iv.6) that no
man should recite the morning Shema' who is blind and cannot actually behold the luminaries
(me'oroth). Just as that traditional Jewish prayer came to be known conventionally as Yeser—from the
words yoser ha-me'oroth, 'Creator of the luminaries'—so the men of Qumran may have called its
equivalent Me'oroth—simply 'Luminaries'—for short.
The place of the piece in the collection, viz. after the prayers for the several days of the week and
before those for the sabbath, may simply indicate that it was recited on all days of the week and not,
as were the others, on any one or other particular day.
The theme of the prayer is the eternal forbearance of God in the face of constant provocation by His
people. A continuance of the same forbearance is besought in their current hour of distress. I have
been especially careful in my translation to bring out this leitmotif, for it is the essence of the piece.
In view of the foregoing considerations, it has seemed to me best to give this composition the neutral
title Prayer for Intercession.
~~~~~~~
Prayer For Intercession
-IILORD, we beseech Thee, do as Thou art, (1)
in accordance with the greatness of Thy power, (2)
Thou Who (of old) didst forgive our fathers,
what time they rebelled against Thy word. (3)
Though Thou wast angry with them, to destroy them, (4)
yet, through Thy love of them and for Thy Covenant's sake,
Thou didst spare them,
in that Moses won clearance of their sin. (5)
So now, we beseech Thee,
to the end that Thy great power may be known,
and the abundance of Thy mercies also,
unto all generations for ever,
let Thine anger and Thy wrath be turned away from Thy people Israel,
and, besides their sins,
remind Thyself also of Thy peculiar favors (6)
which Thou hast (alway) wrought for us in the sight of the nations,
because Thou hast claimed us as Thine own. (7)
[Vouchsafe, we beseech Thee,
to tu]rn us again unto Thee with all our heart and soul, (8)
and so to plant Thy teaching [‡] in our hearts (9)
that we depart not from it to right or left,
Thou having cured us of madness and blindness and bewilderment of heart. (10)
---[‡] Heb. Torah.
----
Behold, when (of old) we were sold by our wrongdoings, (11)
even amid our transgressions didst Thou call us (12)
... and didst rescue us from (further) sinning against Thee.
[Moreover, Thou didst vouchsafe unto us
to know the mysteries of Thy Tru]th (13)
and to understand the evidences (of Thee),
in that Thou didst [gre]at .......
.....
~~III~~
Behold, all the nations were deemed as naught before Thee,
as emptiness and nothingness in Thy presence, (14)
but us—since we owned ourselves Thine alone, (15)
and since Thou hadst created us unto Thy glory (16)—
us didst Thou treat as Thy children (17) in the sight of the nations,
calling Israel, 'My son, My firstborn'. (18)
And though Thou didst chastise us,
as a man might chastise his son, (19)
yet didst Thou grant us increase
throughout the years of our generations.
Thou didst not [abandon us
neither suffer] hunger or thirst, plague or sword [to consume us]
but didst ever fulfill Thy Covenant (with us).
(So too,) because Thou hadst chosen us for Thine own (20)
[out of all the peoples of] the earth,
therefore although, when Thine anger was kindled,
Thou didst pour on us Thy wrath and Thy fiery rage,
and cause to cleave unto us (21) [all] Thy [plagues and str]okes
which Moses had prescribed (22)
and (likewise) Thy servants the prophets
whom Thou didst send to [procla]im unto us the evil
which was to befall us in latter times (23)
—when [our priests (?)] and kings [brake faith with Thee]
by taking to wife the daughters of [the heathen], (24)
thereby [ ] and acting corruptly (25)—
[yet didst Thou not abjure] Thy Covenant, neither [reject us,
to wipe out] the seed of Israel
.....
(Nay,) Thou dost ever deal justly with them that cl[ing unto Thee],
(26) and dost [ ]
.....
~~IV~~
(So too,) because Thou didst love Israel above all peoples,
and didst choose the tribe of Judah,
[Thou didst set] Thy dwelling [in Zion],
[and] a resting-place [for Thy glory] in Jerusa[lem], (27)
[the city which Thou hadst chos]en out of all the earth,
that Thy [name] might abide (§) there for ever;
and Thou didst also fulfill Thy covenant with David
that he should be shepherd, leader o'er Thy people, (28)
and that (his offspring) should sit alway in Thy presence
on the throne of Israel. (29)
---[§] Heb. 'be'.
---And all the nations beheld Thy glory,
ensconced as Thou wast in holiness amid Thy people Israel,
<and they made obeisance to Thee> and to Thy great name,
and brought their tribute of silver and gold and precious stones
together with all the choice things of their lands,
to do honor unto Thy people,
and unto Zion, Thy holy city,
and unto Thy glorious House. (30)
Nor was adversary there nor misfortune, (31)
but only peace and blessing;
men ate and filled themselves and waxed fat (32) [ ]
~~V~~
(So too,) though they had forsaken that fount of living waters (33)
[which Thou hadst opened for them for] their [hall]owing,
and though they practised idolatry (34) in their land, and their
soil was destroyed by their foemen,
when, in Thy fiery passion, Thy fury and hot anger [were poured] out,
so that it was turned to a wasteland,
where no man came nor went, (35)
yet, despite all of this, Thou didst not reject the seed of Jacob,
neither contemn Israel, to make an end of them, (36)
and abjure Thy Covenant with them.
Nay, Thou alone art a living God;
and there is none beside Thee.
Therefore, remembering the Covenant
by which Thou hadst brought us forth in the sight of the nations, (37)
Thou didst not then abandon us among those nations,
but in all [the] lands whither Thou didst thrust them (38)
Thou didst still show kindness to Thy people Israel,
that they might be minded to return unto Thee and to hearken to Thy voice, (39)
even to all which Thou hadst commanded through Thy servant Moses,
For Thou didst shed Thy holy spirit (40) upon us,
(so) bringing to us Thy blessings,
that we might take thought on Thee when trouble befell us,
and murmur our prayers (to Thee) whenso Thy chastisement pressed sore. (41)
(And troubles indeed have we encountered,
[pla]gued and tortured by the fury of oppressors!) (42)
Moreover, although we, for our part,
'drove God hard with our wrongdoings,
and, with our sins, laid hard service on our Rock', (43)
yet, when Thou didst lay service upon us,
Thou didst so for our advantage,
guiding <us> in the way we should walk. (44)
[And] though we paid no heed to [Thy word],
[yet didst Thou ]
~~VI~~
and, ever true to Thyself, (**)
[Thou didst ca]st away from us all our transgressions, (45)
and purge us of our sin.
It is Thou, O LORD, (not us), that hast dealt rightly, (46)
for all these things hast Thou done. (47)
Howbeit, now, this day,
when our hearts are bowed down, (48)
have we not paid the price of our own and our fathers' wrongdoing
—the price of our perfidy and of our contrariness? (49)
For we have not spurned Thy trials,
neither have our souls demurred (††) (50) against Thy strokes,
abjuring our Covenant with Thee
through all the distress of our souls.
---[**] Heb. 'for Thy sake'.
[††] Heb. felt revulsion'.
---(Thou Who hast sent our enemies against us
hast Thyself also given us courage!)
Therefore, we beseech Thee, O LORD,
to the end that we may bear the tale of Thy power to all generations for ever,
even as throughout all time Thou hast wrought peculiar favors,
so now let Thine anger and Thy wrath be turned away from us,
and look Thou on our woe and our trouble and our stress, (51)
and grant unto Thy people Isra[el
in all] the lands, near and far, (52) whither [Thou hast thrust them],
yea, unto everyone that is inscribed in the Book of Life. (53)
that they may succeed in serving Thee and giving thanks (‡‡)
to [Thy holy name].
[Deliver them also] from all their needs (54) [ ].
[But bring Thou Thy retribution on dissemblers(?)]
who are causing [Thy people(?)] to stumble (55) [ ]
[Blessed be He who ],
Who hath delivered us from all distress. AMEN, [AMEN]
---[‡‡] Or, 'praise'.
----
Notes
1. I.e., act in accordance with Thy divine nature and attributes.
2. Cp. Num. 14.17-20.
3. Deut. 1.43; 9.23.
4. Deut. 9.8.
5. Cp. Ex. 32.30.
6. The Hebrew word, usually rendered Vender, marvel', means properly a singular and special act, and
the corresponding verb is often employed in the Old Testament in connection with the bestowal of
favor or the fulfillment of obligations of loyalty (hesed).
7. Literally, 'Because Thy name hath been called over us'.
8. Deut. 4.29; 10.12; 11.13; 30.2, 10.
9. Cp. Isa. 51.7.
10. Deut. 28.28.
11. Cp. Isa. 50.1.
12. Cp. Isa. 50.2.
13. I restore tentatively, [lehodi'enu raze ha-eme]t.
14. Isa. 40.17.
15. Literally, 'Since we made mention of Thy name alone', or perhaps, 'Since we alone were
designated by Thy name'.
16. Cp. Isa. 43.7.
17. Cp. Deut. 14.1.
18. Ex. 4.22.
19. Deut. 8.5.
20. Cp. Deut. 14.2.
21. Deut. 18.11.
22. Deut. 31.21.
23. Deut. 31.29.
24. Cp. Ezra 9.1-2; Neh. 12.25-26.
25. Cp. Deut. 31.29.
26. I restore tentatively, tisdaq la-meha[kkim lak] (or, la-maha[ziqim bak]).
27. Pss. 95.11; 132.14. Cp. also Isa. 66.1.
28. II Sam. 5.2; 25.30.
29. Cp. II Sam. 7.13; I Kings 2.4; 4.5; 8.25; I Chron. 17.12, 14.
30. Isa. 60.7; 64.10.
31. I Kings 5.18(4). The phrase became something of a cliche; cp. Jubilees 23.29; 40.9; 46.1, 2, 5.
Also in the Jewish prayer book: Singer, p. 7 (cp. TB Berachoth 60b).
32. Deut. 31.10.
33. Jer. 17.13.
34. Literally, 'worshipped a strange (alien) god.'
35. Zech. 7.14; 9.8.
36. Lev. 26.44; Jer. 14.19.
37. Lev. 26.45.
38. Cp. Deut. 30.1.
39. Deut. 30.2, 8.
40. Isa. 44.3; cp. Enoch 91.1.
41. Isa. 26.16.
42. Isa. 51.13.
43. Isa. 43.23-24.
44. Cp. Isa. 48.17. The point of the sentence lies in the contrast between Israel's belaboring God with
its sins, and God's laying service on Israel for its benefit. (The original editor's restoration, Thou didst
not lay service on us', therefore gives just the wrong sense.)
45. Ezek. 18.31.
46. Dan. 9.7; cp. Hymns xvi.9.
47. Jer. 14.22; a cliche in the Hymns, e.g. x.12; xviii.21; frag. ii.5.
48. Lev. 26.41.
49. Lev. 26.24, 27, 40, 41.
50. Lev. 26.15.
51. Deut. 26.7.
52. Ezek. 21.4-5.
53. Dan. 12.1.
54. The manuscript is not clear. Tentatively, I read and restore: we-hassilem mi-kol sorekehemah.
55. Cp. Florilegium, i.8.
4 - Glory To God In The Highest (The Litany of the Angels)
~~
Praised be Thy name for ever, O our King, creator of ministering spirits, all of whom stand in the
height of the universe ... and open their mouths in holiness and purity, with song and psalm, while
they bless, praise, glorify, reverence, and ascribe sovereignty to the name of the Divine King. ... With
tranquil spirit, with pure speech, and with holy melody they all intone in unison and exclaim with
awe:
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts, the fullness of the whole earth is His glory.
And the Ophanim and the Holy Creatures with a noise of great rushing upraise themselves towards the
Seraphim, and over against them offer praise and say:
Blessed be the Glory of the Lord from the place thereof.
Jewish Morning Service
=======
Introduction
Jewish folklore, deriving its inspiration from the famous visions of Isaiah (6.2-3) and Ezekiel (ch. 10),
has insisted throughout the ages that when Israel offers public worship to God, its devotions are
accompanied by a corresponding act of divine service performed by the angels. This poetic fancy,
which finds expression also in the Sanctus of the Christian Communion service, forms the background
of what is here designated The Litany of the Angels. This document, only two short extracts from
which have thus far been published, describes elements of the celestial liturgy.
The first extract is based squarely on the vision of Ezekiel (1 and 10) and depicts the angels rising in
their several classes and contingents to give praise to God seated aloft on His Chariot-throne. The
main interest of the extract is historical: it pushes back to a remoter antiquity that lore of the Heavenly
Chariot (Merkabah) which formed a staple of later Jewish mysticism and which some scholars have
attributed to the Essenes. Moreover, the passage bears a remarkable resemblance to some of the
ancient prayers (Yoser) embodied in the traditional Jewish morning service—prayers which some
nineteenth-century savants likewise ascribed to that ascetic brotherhood.
The second extract is in many ways the more interesting. It sets forth a series of blessings said to have
been pronounced, as part of the celestial liturgy, by each of seven archangels. The point is, however,
that these blessings are evidently conceived as the angelic counterpart of the Priestly Benediction
(Num. 6.24-27) anciently recited in the Temple and now a staple element of all Jewish public
worship. The similarity is close and arresting:
(a) Each blessing is divided into three parts, matching the structure of the Aaronic formula, and
according especially with the statement in the Mishnah (Tamid, vii.2) that outside of Jerusalem this
formula was indeed reckoned and recited as three blessings.
(b) Each blessing is pronounced in the name of a divine quality or attribute, e.g., God's sovereign
majesty, sublime truth, mystical power, or holiness, and each is designed to convey a particular
benefit upon its recipients. This is in direct accord with the words of the Aaronic formula: So shall
they put My name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them (Num. 6.27).
(c) The entire benediction ends with the word peace, again in accordance with the Aaronic formula
(Num. 6.26).
(d) We may perhaps go even a step further. Besides those 'who have walked uprightly', 'who have
been eager to do God's will', 'whose way has been blameless', and the like, one passage (Blessing #5)
makes curious mention-according to one possible rendering—of 'those who have given thanks to
Him'. True, one reason for this specification is that it lends itself to a play on words between the
majesty (hod) which they are to receive as their guerdon and the act of thanksgiving (modim) by
which they have earned it. It is also possible, however, that what suggested this somewhat curious
particularization was the fact that in the service of the synagogue the Priestly Benediction (or a
substitute for it) is actually recited in the Standing Prayer ('Amidah) immediately after the Blessing of
Thanksgiving, which begins, We give thanks (modim) and ends, Blessed art Thou, O Lord ... to whom
it is fitting to give thanks. This usage is believed to be ancient.
It is not clear whether the blessings were thought to be pronounced upon angels or human beings. In
Blessing #4 there is indeed a specification of 'the godly beings who have upreared the structure of true
knowledge', and this is a not uncommon description of angels. On the other hand, phrases like 'those
whose way has been blameless' are certainly more suggestive of human beings, and in Blessing #6 the
benefit conferred is that the recipients 'may take their stand beside the beings eternal'—a phrase which
can scarcely refer to angels who themselves are those eternal beings. It may therefore be suggested
that the blessings were thought to be pronounced upon the sainted dead, who thus received their
heavenly reward. That these should be designated 'godly beings' is not at all extraordinary; the very
point of the designation may lie in the hyperbole.
This interpretation is strongly supported, if not actually confirmed, by the fact that in later rabbinic
tradition mention is made of seven classes of saintly persons who are privileged to enjoy the Beatific
Vision in seven compartments of paradise, each of them being there translated into a category of
angels, and in several cases they are designated by the same names as in our text.
Thus, as enumerated in Seder Gan Eden (*) (which is thought to have been compiled from ancient
sources), they are: (i) the 'righteous' [zaddiqim], to whom correspond the angelic Arelim; (ii) the
'upright' [yesharim], to whom correspond the angelic Hashmalim; (iii) the 'blameless' [temimim], to
whom correspond the angelic Tarshishim; (iv) the 'saintly' [qedoshim], to whom correspond the
angelic Holy Beings; (v) the 'penitent', to whom correspond the angelic Ophanim; (vi) school
children, to whom correspond the angelic Cherubim; and (vii) the 'pious' [hasidim], to whom
correspond the angelic Holy Creatures (hayoth). Each of these is headed by a Scriptural paragon, viz.
(i) Joseph; (ii) Phinehas; (iii) Eleazar, son of Aaron; (iv) Aaron; (v) King Manasseh of Judah; (vi)
Joshua; the leader of the seventh class being left unnamed.
Thus, what is envisaged in our text would be a blessing by the corresponding leader of the heavenly
contingent either upon its counterpart still on earth or else upon those members of it who have already
attained celestial status.
---(*) A. Jellinek, Beth Ha-Midrash, iii, 131-40; J. D. Eisenstein, Osar Midrashim, i,86.
---Finally, it is worth observing that the divine qualities in whose names the blessings are pronounced
accord in several instances with those associated with God in the elaborate kabbalistic system of the
Sephiroth, e.g., majesty, power, etc. Nor should it be overlooked that there is a subtle correspondence
between the qualities of those on whom the blessings are conferred and of the angels who confer
them. Thus, those who have upheld true knowledge (gnosis) become one with the angels who possess
such knowledge and who are elsewhere described in the Scrolls (Hymns iii.22) as 'spirits of
knowledge' or as possessed of the 'wisdom of the sons of heaven', (Manual, iv.22).
Similarly, those who have laid firm foundations for nobility and knowledge qualify (by implication)
as the equals of those personified celestial 'foundations' (elements, (PIC INSERT 288) of the world
who are in fact angelic beings; while those who have 'shown prowess of mind' become the
companions of the angels who are elsewhere described as 'stalwarts' (Hymns viii.11; x.34-35; cp. Ps.
103.20).
=======
The Litany Of The Angels
~~A~~
... the angels that minister to the Presence of God's Glory (1) in that compartment of heaven (2) where
abide [the beings who possess (true)] knowledge. (3) They fall (4) before the [cheru]bim and intone
their blessings. (5)
While they are soaring aloft, (6) there sounds a murmur of angel voices [ ], (7) and the lifting of their
wings is accompanied by a clamor of joyous song. It is the murmur of angels blessing the Chariot-like
Throne (8) above the firmament of the cherubim, (9) while they themselves, from below the place
where the Glory dwells, go acclaiming in joyous song the [splen]dor of that radiant expanse.
(Whenever the wheels (of that Chariot) are in motion, (10) angels of sanctification (11) dart to and fro
(12) all around it, between its glorious wheels. Like fiery apparitions are they, (13) spirits most holy,
looking like streams of fire, in the likeness of burnished metal (14) or of lustrous ware; clothed in
garments opalescent, a riot of wondrous hues, a diffusion(?) (15) of brightness; live angelic spirits,
(16) constantly coming and going beside the glorious wonderful Chariot. (17) Amid all the noise of
their progress sounds also that murmured intonation of blessings, and whenever they come round,
they shout their holy hallelujahs.)
When (the angels) soar aloft, they soar in wondrous wise; and when they alight, (18) they stay
standing. (19)
Then the sound of the paean is hushed, and the murmur of angelic benedictions pervades all the camps
(20) of those godly beings. Anon, from the midst of their every contingent, (21) they [give forth] a
sound of praise, as, in [holy] wor[ship], each of their several ranks (22) breaks forth into joyous song,
one after another, in their several stations. (23)
~~B~~
4
Next, with seven words (1) of nobility (2)
the fourth of the arch-princes (3)
blesses (4) in the name of His (5) kingly nobility
all who have walked uprightly;
and with seven words of [ ]
he blesses all who have laid foundations for [nobility];
and with seven words of vindication (6)
he blesses all those godly beings who have upreared the
structure of true knowledge; (7)
that they may be blessed with His glorious mercy.
5
Next, with seven words of sublime truth
the fifth of the arch-princes
blesses in the name of His mystical powers (8)
all who have [led lives of] purity;
and with seven words of [ ]
he blesses all who have been eager to do His will;
and with seven words of majesty
he blesses all who have acknowledged His majesty. (9)
that they may be blessed with [ ] majesty
6
Next, with seven words of His mystical prowess
the sixth of the arch-princes
blesses in the name of angelic prowess (10)
all who have shown prowess of mind; (11)
and with seven mystical words
he blesses all whose way has been blameless; (12)
that they may take their stand beside the beings eternal; (13)
and (again) with seven mystical words
he blesses all who have waited on Him; (14)
that they may obtain in return (15) the mercy of His tender love.
7
(Finally,) with seven words of His mystical holiness
the seventh of the arch-princes
blesses in the name of His holiness
all the saintly beings among those who have laid foundations for (true) knowledge;
and with seven mystical words
he blesses all who have avouched the sublimity of His judgments; (16)
that they may be blessed with stout shields;
and with seven words of [ ] (17)
he blesses all who have enlisted in the cause of righteousness, (18)
who have sung continually the praises of His glorious kingdom; (19)
that they may be blessed with peace. (20)
THEREUPON all the arch-princes (in concert)
[acclaim the praise of] the God of the angels,
and all the [
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Notes
~~A~~
I. See Analytical Index, F. 2 (b)-(c).
2. Literally, 'dwelling", but the term bears this specific meaning in the Hechaloth-literature, e.g., in
Masse-cheth Hechaloth, ch. 7, (=Eisenstein, Osar Midrashim, i.110b).
3. See Analytical Index, F. 5.
4-. Possibly this is all one sentence, with the ministering angels as the subject But it seems to me more
natural to suppose that these, with the cherubim, are the beings who reside in the highest heaven, just
below the Throne, and whom the soaring angels encounter.
5. See Analytical Index, F. 6. The Kedushah ('Sanctus') in the Jewish liturgy for sabbaths and festivals
describes them as responding to the Trisagion uttered by the seraphim with the words, 'Blessed be the
glory of the Lord from the place thereof (cp. Isa. 6.3; Ezek. 10.3). Massecheth Hechaloth, ch. 5,
elaborates: 'By day they sing the Sanctus; at night, the Benedictus'. It is the latter, rather than a general
benediction, that may here be meant.
6. Cp. Ezek. 10.16, 17, 19.
7. The low murmur (whisper) of the angels is a common theme in rabbinic literature; e.g., Sifre i.58. It
is mentioned explicitly in the Kedushah; cp. L. Zunz, Gottesdientl. Vortrage der Juden, (2) 173, 363.
Hechaloth Rabbath!, ch. 26 (Eisenstein, op. eft., i.!21a) says that 'the Holy Creatures stand posted
before Thee in a soft murmur'. Similarly, Slavonic Enoch 20.3 says that the angels sing 'with small
tender voices'; cp. also ib., 21.1 (A); 22.3.
8. I.e., the Merkabah of later Jewish mysticism, which concept some scholars have indeed attributed
to the Essenes. The expression occurs also among the Mandaeans: John Book ii.76f. The phrasing in
our text is adapted from I Chron. 28.18.
9. Cp. Ezek. 10.1. These several 'firmaments', i.e., storeys of heaven, are mentioned specifically in the
Hechaloth-literature, e.g., Jellinek, Beth ha-Midrash, iii.168.
10. Cp. Ezek. 10.9, 11.
11. See Analytical Index, F. 2 (d). As in Enoch, these are here identified with the 'holy creatures' of
Ezekiel's vision.
12. The phrase is taken from Ezek. 1.14 (read as in the Vulgate, with a slight deviation from the
traditional Jewish Masoretic text).
13. Cp. Ezek. 1.13, 27. See also Slavonic Enoch 29.13.
14. Cp. Ezek. 1.27. But the exact meaning of the Hebrew word hashmal is uncertain. In rabbinic lore,
it came to denote a class of angels!
15. The reading, and hence also the translation, is uncertain. I have guessed.
16. Not 'spirits of a living God', as the words might formally mean. This is a paraphrase of the
expression 'holy creatures' (lit. 'holy living beings') in Ezekiel's vision.
17. The text reads 'chariots', in the plural. These are indeed mentioned in the Hechaloth-literature, but
it seems more probable that the scribe has made a slip, and that the reference is to the Throne-chariot
(Merkabah) of God.
18. The curious use of the Hebrew word sh-k-n in this sense may be illustrated from Syriac, where
one of its meanings is indeed 'sink down in flying'.
19. Cp. Ezek. 1.24-25. Isa. 6.2 says expressly that 'the seraphim stood above him'. Standing was the
ancient posture in prayer, though the expression 'stand beside' was a good Semitic way of saying
simply 'serve'.
20. The phrase derives from Gen. 32.3 (RSV: 'God's army'). The 'camps' of the angels are frequently
mentioned in the Hechaloth-literature (e.g., Eisenstein, op. cit., 110a, 123a), and the angels—as the
'host of heaven'—are often depicted as a militia.
21. A military term; cp. Num. 2, passim; War vi.l, 4, 5; viii.14; ix.4, 10; xvii.10.
22. Again a military term; cp. Isa. 13.4, etc.
23. Once more a military term; cp. War vi.1, 4, 5; viii.3, 6, 17; ix.10; xvi.5; xvii.11.
~~B~~
1. I.e., phrases redolent of (nobility, etc.).
2. Or, majesty, splendor.
3. I.e., archangels. The expression is adapted from Ezek. 38.2; 39.1. See Analytical Index, F. 2 (a).
4. Or, will bless, is to bless.
5. Note that the name of God is never mentioned directly in the blessings.
6. Or, righteousness.
7. Literally, 'raise high' in contrast to 'lay the foundations'. Slight paraphrase has been necessary to
bring out the point.
8. The Hebrew word means properly 'something singu-lar, extraordinary', and is used constantly in the
Scrolls of things heavenly and transcendental. 'Mystical' seems the nearest equivalent.
9. The word may also be rendered, 'who have given thanks to Him'. Perhaps it plays on the fact that in
the service of the synagogue, the Priestly Blessing, of which this is the angelic counterpart, is recited
after that section of the Standing Prayer ('Amidah) which begins, 'We give Thee thanks' and ends,
'Blessed art Thou, O Lord ... to whom it is beseeming to give thanks'. There is also a word-play
between 'majesty' (hod) and 'give thanks' (modim).
10. Cp. Manual, xvii.6.
11. In allusion to the fact that the angels themselves are called 'those who show prowess of strength';
see Analytical Index, F. 1 (h).
12. Ps. 119.1.
13. For this notion, see Analytical Index, A. 12.
14. Isa. 30.18.
15. Scarcely, 'that they may obtain a return (restoration) of His tender love', as the words might
formally mean, because the doctrine of the Scrolls is that, despite all Israel's defections, God's tender
love remains constant
16. Literally, 'who have exalted His judgments (i.e., dispensation)'—again in contrast to 'lay the
foundations'; see above, n. 7.
17. Cp. TB Berachoth 27b, where men of advanced insight are described as 'shield-bearers'; v. Kohut,
Aruch Completum, viii.282.
18. A military metaphor; cp. note 16 to Hymn 8, and see Analytical Index, A. 10.
19. The point is that they have done what the angels themselves are continually doing, viz. singing the
'eternal song' of God. The Kedushah ('Sanctus') in the Jewish liturgy says explicitly that the earthly
congregation recites God's sanctity and grandeur continually as do the angels.
20. In imitation of the Priestly Blessing, which ends with 'peace' (Num. 6.26). In the Jewish liturgy, it
is followed immediately by a prayer beginning, 'Grant peace', and ending, 'Blessed art Thou, O Lord,
Who blessest Thy people Israel with peace' (cp. Ps. 29.11).
5 - The Word Of God (The Study of Scripture)
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but
the word of our God shall stand for ever.
Isaiah 40.8.
Remember the days of old.
Deuteronomy 32.7.
=======
I - Expositions Of Scripture
Introduction.
Believing firmly that they stood on the threshold of the New Age, the members of the Brotherhood
were especially interested in searching the Scriptures for intimations of current events, A form of
interpretation thereby developed in which the words of the ancient prophets were deftly applied to the
contemporary scene. Such interpretations were doubtless propounded not only in the course of general
study but more especially when portions of the Law and the Prophets were read during the public
devotions on the sabbath.
Philo tells us distinctly concerning the Essenes that 'on the seventh day ... they go to the sacred places
called synagogues ... and listen with becoming attention. Then one of them takes the Scriptures and
reads, while another, selected from those most versed in the subject, comes forward and expounds it,
passing over more recondite points. For they philosophize on most things by construing them
symbolically [literally, by symbols], in accordance with ancient usage'. Similarly, in the Gospel of
Luke we are told (4.16ff.) how Jesus once attended synagogue at Nazareth on the sabbath, read
publicly the Lesson from the Prophets and then proceeded to expound it in terms of current events:
Today hath this scripture been fulfilled in your hearing'.
This type of exposition is represented by a series of texts which, for purposes of convenience, scholars
have called commentaries. However, they are not commentaries in the modern sense of the term. Their
keyword is, in Hebrew, pesher, and pesher means properly the interpretation of a dream or the
unravelling of a puzzle. It is the correlative of the term raz, 'secret, mystery', which is often applied in
the Scrolls to the supposedly arcane and latent meaning which underlies the Word of God revealed in
the Scriptures.
Significantly enough, while the other sectarian texts from Qumran, such as the Manual of Discipline,
the 'Zadokite' Document, and the Hymns, are each represented by several copies, the 'commentaries'
all exist in only one copy. (*) This would seem to indicate that they were not in the category of
standard traditional literature, but were simply ad hoc products—texts of, or rough notes for, 'sermons'
delivered by the various official 'interpreters'.
The fragmentary commentaries on Isaiah, Hosea and Micah scarcely deserve special comment, since
they contain nothing of importance save the rather general polemic against the priests in Jerusalem.
The special interest of the Commentary on Nahum lies in the fact that it contains the only explicit
historical allusion thus far found in the Scrolls—namely, a reference to an Incident which occurred in
88 B.C. and which is related in detail by Josephus. This establishes beyond doubt the date before
which it could not have been written; and if it really came from the library of the Qumran 'Monastery'
and was cached at the approach of the Roman legions in 68 A.D., the time of its composition can thus
be fixed within about one hundred and fifty years.
It would be hazardous, however, to conclude that this necessarily settles the date of all the
'commentaries', though it clearly strengthens the hypothesis that they belong to the Roman rather than
to an earlier period. Nor, further, should it be supposed that because the commentator illustrates a
particular passage of Scripture by this reference to Demetrius Eucerus and Alexander Jannaeus, all
other references to 'men of lies' and 'wicked priests' necessarily refer to the same persons. In other
words, there is no warrant for the assumption that the Commentary on Nahum establishes a definitive
frame of reference for the commentaries as a whole and hence a date for the Scrolls in general.
---(*) To be sure, there are sometimes variant commentaries on the same Scriptural text, but that is
something else.
---The Commentary on Habakkuk has aroused special interest for two reasons. The first is that an
observation contained in it—namely, its comment on Habakkuk 2.15—has been taken by several
scholars to imply that the Brotherhood believed in a Christ-like Teacher of Righteousness who
suffered a martyr's death but subsequently 'reappeared in glory' to his disciples.
The second is that the various allusions in this document to the 'teacher of righteousness', the 'wicked
priest', and the 'man of falsehood' have been thought to constitute a connected biographical narrative
which, once the characters are identified, might provide a definitive clue to the antiquity of the text
and thence possibly to that of the Scrolls as a whole. With the untenability of the former theory and
with the precariousness of the latter we have already dealt in the General Introduction to this volume.
Nothing further, therefore, needs here be said on these matters.
On the other hand, there is a little detail in the Commentary on Habakkuk which appears to have been
overlooked, but which may prove of considerable importance for the identification of the Brotherhood.
Interpreting the prophet's words (2.17), 'The violence of Lebanon shall overwhelm thee', our author
observes, 'Lebanon stands for the Communal Council'. The basis of this interpretation is, I suggest,
that the name Lebanon really means 'white' (Heb. laban); and what the author had in mind was that the
Communal Council was white-robed. His statement would then chime perfectly with Josephus'
assertion (War, II, viii, 3) that 'the Essenes dressed in white'—a custom still observed by the
Samaritans and Mandaeans. In other words, this comment might provide evidence that the
Brotherhood were indeed Essenes.
The only noteworthy point in the Commentary on Psalm Thirty-seven (again fragmentary) is the
reference to the forty-year period of 'Messianic tribulation', harmonizing with what is said in the War
of the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness, and with a well-known rabbinic tradition.
Concerning the Commentary on Psalm Forty-five (of which only the opening lines remain) there is
nothing to be said except that it anticipates by several centuries the fanciful interpretation of the title
(v. 1) which is found later in rabbinic sources.
=======
Isaiah (1)
~~ Chapter Five ~~
(5) [And now I would have you know what I shall do to My vineyard] take away its hedge, that it go
to rack and ruin, make a gap in its fence, that men come trample it down. The meaning of this passage
is that God has abandoned them ...
(6) And as to the statement, Thorns and thistles shall grow up, [this refers to] ... And as to the term ...,
[this refers to] ... of the way ... their eyes. (2)
(10?) Ten acres of vineyard shall yield but eight gallons, and the harvest be only one tenth of what is
sown. (3) This statement has reference to the Latter Days, to the price of guilt which, through warfare
and famine, the earth will then have to pay. This will occur at the time of the Visitation of the Earth.
(4)
(11-14) Woe to them that rise early, to go chasing after strong drink, that stay late in the cool of the
evening, while wine lights fires within them! Those carousals of theirs are but rounds of strumming
and drumming, of hooting and tooting—and wine. (6) Quite oblivious they are to what the LORD is
about, too blinded ever to see what He is actually doing.
That is the reason why My people, likewise unconscious, have likewise been 'carried away' —away to
an alien land, their gentry starving for hunger, their masses parched for thirst. That too is the reason
why it is Hell that now stretches its gorge, and Hell (6) that now holds its mouth limitlessly agape,
while down goes all their proud show, all their racket and riot, and all that made merry therein!
The persons here in question are those men of impiety (7) who are in Jerusalem. These are the men of
whom it is said:
(24-25) They have spurned the Law (8) of the LORD, and held in contempt the word of Israel's Holy
One.
Therefore has the LORD'S anger been kindled against His people. He has stretched forth His hand
against them, and struck them till mountains quaked, and their carcases lay like refuse in the midst of
the streets.
Yet, despite all of this, His anger is still unabated, and His hand is still outstretched. This refers to the
men of impiety who are in Jerusalem.
(29-30) [Their roaring is like a lion's, like young lions they roar; they growl and seize their prey,
snatch it,] and none can rescue.
[(So God Himself) will roar against them in that day] like the roar[ing of the sea.] And if one look to
the land, lo, darkness closing in, and all the daylight darkened by lowering banks of clouds.
~~ Chapter Six ~~
(9) [And as for] the statement, [Hear and hear, but do not understand]; see and s[ee, but do not
perceive], ... [the term] understand [means]. ...
~~ Chapter Ten ~~
(12) When [the Lord] (9) has brought to completion that which He means to do on Mount Zion and in
Jeru- salem, I then will call to account the king of A[s-syria] for the fruit of his arrogant heart and the
pride (10) of his haughty looks. For (see) what he has been saying: 'By my own brain and brawn (for
oh, how clever I am!) I have accomplished it (all)— shifted the bounds of peoples and rifted their
stores.
The reference is to the annihilation of Babylon. (11) ... [The bounds of peoples] are the statutory Laws
of [God's] people (12) [which the Man of Lies (?) (13) summarily sets aside; while the rifling of the
stores refers to the] deception which he practises on the masses. ...
(20) When that day comes, those of Israel that are left and those of the house of Jacob that survive will
no longer stay themselves on one who (merely) smites (14) them, but rather on the Lord, Israel's Holy
One.
(21) A remnant there will be [ ] that then will find its way back to the one true Paladin, Who is God
Himself. (15)
(22) Israel, though now your people [ ] be countless as sands of the sea, only a remnant among them [
] will find its way back. In an eschatological sense, this means that [the bulk of the people] will go into
capti[vity] ...; [while the statement that they are now countless as the sands of the sea] (16) implies
that there will (eventually) be a diminution [of their numbers]; as the text puts it:
(22d) A decisive end will there be, a floodtide of their just deserts; (17)
(23) for a final decisive end is the Lord, the Lord of Hosts making throughout the earth.
(24) Wherefore thus says the Lord, The Lord [of Hosts] ...
__________________
[Another Commentary]
(21) A remnant there will be that then will find its way back to the one true Paladin, Who is God
Himself. [This remnant of Is]rael denotes [the congregation of the elect(?),] the godly champions of
righteousness, while the [ ] are the ranks of the priests, for ...
(22) And as to the statement, Israel, though now your people, etc., [this means that ] many will perish
[when judgment is rendered] on the earth. In truth ...
__________________
(28-32) Now has he reached 'Aiath, now left [Migron] behind, [now stored his gear at Michmas.
Now are they over] the pass, at Geba' halt for the night. Now is [Ramah] a-trem[ble, Saul's Gibe'ah in
flight. Now shr]iek, O maid of Gallim! [O Laishah], catch the sound! [Re-echo it, 'Anathoth!]
Madmenah [takes to its heels]; they that dwell in Gebim seek cover. Ere [this day be done he shall be
standing at Nob, shaking] his fist (*) at the mount of maid Zion, the hill of Jerusalem. This statement
[has reference] to the end of days, to the coming of [the Redeemer ], at the point when he marches up
from the valley of 'Acho<r> (18) to wage [a migh]ty unparalleled [battle] against [ ]. Through all the
ci[ties of
(19) will he pass and will eventually reach] the boundary of Jerusalem.
(33a) [Behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, shall lop the boughs with terror.] [The meaning is that He
will wreak judgment] upon all the [ and upon] the [Kit]taeans who [ ] and [upon] all the heathen, and
[His] pow[er shall be made manifest upon them].
(33b-34) [And those of high] stature shall be hewn down, [and the lofty shall be brought low]. [ ] And
the thickets of [the forest] shall be cut down with [an ax]. (†) [This state]ment [has reference] to the
war against the Kittaeans. (20) ['Those of high stature' are the] Kittaeans who will be consign[ed to ]
***
[And as for the statement, The thickets of the forest shall be cut down] with an ax, and Lebanon with
[its] symbols of grandeur [‡] [be felled, this refers to those who have been oppressing(?)] Ju[dah and]
Israel and the humble of [the land]. Grandiose [though they appear], they shall [ ] and quail, and [their]
he[arts] shall melt. These ['symbols of grandeur'] are the soldiers of the Kit[taeans, while the thickets
of the for]est [that shall be cut down] with an ax are their [allies], and (the words,) Lebanon with [its]
sym[bols of grandeur shall be felled mean that their ringleader will meet his doom] at the hands of the
notables in his own entourage, (§) (21)[and will not succeed in escaping to] safety (22) when he flees
before [ ].
---[*] Heb. 'hand'.
[†] Heb. 'iron'.
[‡] Heb. 'its majestic ones', i.e., cedars.
[§] Heb. 'his great ones'.
~~ Chapter Eleven ~~
(1-4) [But out of the stock of] Jesse [shall come forth a shoot], and a scion [shall sprout] from his
roots.
And upon him [shall re]st [the spirit of the Lord, the spirit of wis]dom and discernment, the spirit of
counsel [and of might], the spirit of knowledge [and of the fear of the Lord. And He will inspire him
with fear of] the LORD (**) and [he shall not judge after] the sight of [his eyes, neither dec]ide [after
the hearing of his ears], but judge [the poor with righteousness and decide with equity for the humble
of the land]. [The reference is to the scion of] David (23) who will exercise his office at the end [of
days].
His [ene]mies [will be felled], (24) but him will God uphold [by bestowing upon him po]wer, a throne
of glory, a h[oly] crown and broidered robes. (25) A [ (26) shall be placed] in his hand, and he shall
bear sway over all the hea[th]en, and Magog [shall be vanquished by him], (27) and his sword shall
wreak judgment upon all the peoples. And as for the statement, He shall not [judge after the sight of
his eyes] neither decide after the hearing of his ears, the reference here is to the fact that [he will
follow the instructions of the priests; only] as they direct him will he judge, and by their advice [will
he decide]. (28) [ ] one of the (more) distinguished priests will come forth, bearing in his hands the
vestments of [royalty] (29) * * * *
---(**) Written in archaic script.
---~~ Chapter Fourteen ~~
(4-7) ... This refers to the annihilation of Babylon.
(8) The cypresses make merry over you, (and) the cedars of Lebanon, (saying): 'Now that you are laid
low, no one comes up to fell us!' The cypresses and the cedars of Lebanon mean allegorically ...
(26) And as to the statement, This is the plan that has been planned against the entire earth, and this is
the hand stretched forth over the nations (all). (30) Yet when the Lord of Hosts it is that has laid the
plan, who can bring it to naught?
When His is the hand stretched forth, who can turn it back? This refers to [ ; for does not] Scripture
assert in the Book of Zechariah: (31) ...
~~ Chapter Thirty ~~
(15-18) Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel: 'In going back to your homes, in dwelling
tranquilly, you shall achieve your real triumphs; in quiet, unruffled living shall lie the proof of your
strength'.
But you would have none of it. 'No! To horse!' you said. 'We must be off and away!' Then off and
away shall you be —away in a headlong flight!
Or, again, you said, 'But we like to gallop around'. Then galloping you shall have —of men chasing
after you! At the threat of one single man —or, at best, of a handful of men, a thousand of you shall
flee, till your lone survivors are left like a mast on a mountain top, an ensign on a hill.
This is the reason why the LORD is biding His time before He shows favor to you, why He is keeping
aloof from showing compassion for you: the LORD is a God of justice. (Yet happy, withal, are they
who stand in wait for Him!)
This passage refers to the Latter Days and to the congregation of those, in Jerusalem, who 'seek after
smooth things.' These are the men who ... the Law and do not st[udy it whole] heartedly, for/but ...
they have spurned the Law ...
(19-21) Howbeit, O people in Zion, who dwell in Jerusalem, nothing is here for tears! At the mere
sound of your cry, He will straightway show favor to you. No sooner has He heard (it) than He
(always) has answered you. So, what though the LORD now give you meager bread and scant water,
as in time of siege, men there yet will be, no longer muffled up, (32) to point the way for you. (33)
Your eyes will see those men pointing the way for you, and your ears hear a word behind you, saying,
Though now you be turning either to right or left, (34) this is the way; walk upon it! The reference is
to the wrongdoing (35) of the congregation of] ...
~~ Chapter Fifty-Four ~~ (36)
(11) Behold, I will set your stones in antimony, This refers to the fact that ... all Israel like antimony
around the eye(?).
and lay your foundations with sapphires.
This refers to the fact that they have founded the deliberative council of the community out of priests
and laity— a veritable congregation of God's elect—like a sapphire among gems.
(12) And I will make your pinnacles of agate, This refers to the twelve ... who shine after the manner
of the Urim and Thummim. Even the more inferior of them were like the sun in all its radiance and
like ...
and your gates of carbuncle.
This refers to the heads of the tribes of Israel ... each man [filling] his assigned role, (together
constituting) the rotas of ...
=======
Hosea
~~ Chapter Two ~~
(7) [For their mother hath played the harlot, she that conceived them hath done shamefully; for she
said, 'I will go after my lovers, that gave me my bread and my water, my wool and my linen, my oil
and my drink.' This means that. . .] and they took delight in ... and walked crookedly . . .
(8) [Behold, I will hedge up her way] with thorns, and her paths [shall she not find. This means that
God smote them with madness] and blindness and bewilderment [of heart, (1) for throughout the era
of wickedness] and the era of their perfidy (2) they did not [follow His guidance]. The persons in
question are (also) the generation of the Visitation (3) ... [and] the [generation of the La[tt]er [Days] ...
in throughout the eras of Wrath, (4) for ...
(9) [So she said, 'I will go back to my fi]rst [husband], for [then I fared better than now. This refers to
the fact that] when the Exile was restored ...
(10) [But she knew not that] it was I that gave her corn [and must and oil], and that multiplied [the
silver] and gold which they used [for Baal. This means] that [they ate and drank and] filled
themselves, and then forgot God who ... They cast behind their backs His commandments which He
sent to them [through] His servants the prophets, and hearkened and paid honor (instead) to men who
led them astray, and, in their blindness, they stood in dread of them as though they were gods.
(11) Therefore will I take back My corn in the time thereof, and My must [in the season thereof], and
shall snatch 'away My wool and My linen that it cover not [her nakedness]. And now will I discover
her shame before the eyes of [her] lovers, and no [man] shall deliver her out of my hand. This means
that God has smitten them with famine and nakedness, that they are become a thing of sha[me] and
reproach in the eyes of the nations on whom they relied. Those shall not save them from their woes.
(13) I will make all her merriment to cease, her festivals, new moons and sabbaths, and all her
seasonal feasts.
This means that ... which they accommodated to the festivals of the heathen, and that all their joy has
been turned into mourning.
(14) I will lay waste [her vine and her fig tree] whereof she said, 'These are my hire [which] my
[lovers gave unto me]' I will turn them into a woodland, and the be[asts of the field] shall devour them.
=======
Micah
Chapter One
(5) All this is because of the transgression of Jacob, and the sins of the house of Israel. What is the
transgression of Jacob? Surely, Samaria! ... So I will turn Samaria into a heap in a field, a place for the
planting of a vineyard. This refers to the preacher of falsehood, who leads the simple-minded astray.
(1)
But what are the (true) 'high places' of Jewry? Surely, Jerusalem! This on the other hand refers to those
who expound the Law correctly to God's people and to all who are willing to join His elect—that is,
the doers of the Law —when the latter meet together in the communal council. These will be delivered
from the Day of Judgment. (2)
(6) As to the words: I will turn Samaria into a heap in a field, a place for the planting of a vineyard;
and I will roll down her stones into the valley, and uncover her foundations [ ], this refers to the
Jerusalemitan priests who are leading God's people astray. [God will thrust them forth, to become
sojourners in a foreign land; and He will drive all] His enemies [into exile.] (3)
(8) I will go stripped and naked ... for it is come unto Judah; it reacheth unto the gate of my people,
unto Jerusalem. [ ] [God] will wreak judgment on His enemies [ ] [them who sought] to betray Him.
(*)
(9) As to the words: It reacheth into the gate of my people, this means that God's glory will move
(once more) from Se'ir to Jerusalem. [ ] For God will come forth from [ ]. (5)
=======
Nahum
~~ Chapter One ~~
(3) In gust and gale (1) is His way, [and] clouds are the du[st at his feet]. [The gust and gale connote]
the ex[pan]ses of His heaven and His earth, (2) which [will be convulsed] when [He comes do]wn. (3)
(4) He rebukes the sea and dries it up. (*) The 'sea' connotes the Kittians, (5) (and what is meant is
that) He will wreak such judgment upon them as to wipe them out from off [the face of the earth]
together with [ ] and its rulers, whose dominion will be brought to an end. A-wilt are Bashan and
Carmel; a-wilt too is Lebanon's bloom. This means that through Hun the towering pride of wickedness
(6) [will be abased, and the dominion of Belial brought low (?)]. 'Lebanon' connotes the latter's rulers.
(7) A-wilt too is Lebanon's bloom. This connotes his (i.e., Belial's) abettors. (8) They will perish in the
face of [ and of] the elect of [ ]. (9) [Judgment will fall on (?)] all that dwell in the world.
(5) Mountains quake before Him. This means that [ ] will tremble at His presence(?). (10)
(6) In the face of His fury who will stand? Who abide the blaze of His wrath? This means [ ]. (11)
~~ Chapter Two ~~
(11) Where is the abode of the lions, which was the feeding place of the young lions- [This refers to
Jerusalem which has become] an abode for the wicked men of the heathen. (12)
where the lion and lioness walked, and the lion's whelp [and none made them afraid]? [This refers to
Deme]-trius, the king of Greece, who, at the instance of them 'that sought smooth things', sought to
enter Jerusalem. (13) [Never] from the days of Antiochus (14) until the time when the rulers of the
Kittians (15) arose, [has that city daun]ted the kings of Greece; and eventually it will be trodden under.
(12) The lion rent the limbs (16) of his own whelps, and strangled his own lionesses for prey. [This
refers to] the Young Lion of Anger (17) who proceeded to smite his own great men and his own
confederates.
and filled his caves with prey, and his abodes (dens) with torn flesh. [This refers to] the Young Lion
who [wrought venge]ance on them 'that sought smooth things', in that he proceeded to hang them up
alive. (18) [Such a thing had never] before [been done] in Israel, for the Scripture designates a man
hung up alive as ['a reproach unto God']. (19)
(13) Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of Hosts, and I will burn thy multitude (20) in smoke,
and the sword shall devour thy young lions, and I will cut off thy prey from the earth. [This refers to ].
Thy multitude' means the great men of his army [and] his [confederates]. His young lions' are [ ], and
his 'prey' is the property which [the priests of] Jerusalem amas[sed] (21) (and) which [ ]. [E]phraim
[shall become] ; Israel shall be rendered [ ]. (22) [And the voice of thy messengers shall no more be
heard.] ... his 'messengers' are his ambassadors, whose voice shall no more be heard among the
nations.
~~ Chapter Three ~~
(1) Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of fraud and rapine. This alludes to the city of Ephraim
(23)—to those (future) 'seekers after smooth things (24) who, in the Latter Days, will walk in fraud
and lies.
The prey departeth not, nor do (2) the crack of the whip, the whir of wheels, the prancing horses, the
bounding chariots (3) the charging horsemen, the flashing [sword], the glittering spear, the multitude
of slain, the great heap of carcasses. No end is there to the bodies; men stumble over those bodies.
This alludes to the period when the 'seekers after smooth things' hold sway. Never will the sword of
the gentiles depart from the midst of their community, nor yet captivity, spoliation and internecine
strife, nor exile through fear of an enemy. Many a guilty corpse shall fall in their days, and there shall
indeed be no end to the slain. Moreover, through the guilty counsel (policy) of these men, men will
indeed stumble in the body of their own flesh.
(4) Because of the manifold whoredoms of the well-favored whore, that mistress of witchery, who
sells whole nations through her whoredom, and whole families through her wit[cher]y. This alludes to
those who will go leading Ephraim astray, those by whose false teaching, (25) lying tongue, and
guileful lips many shall indeed be led astray —kings, princes, priests, laymen, and affiliated
strangers— and through whose counsel (policy) their cities and families shall go to ruin, and through
whose tongues nobles and rulers will fall.
(5) Behold, I am against thee, quoth the LORD of H[ost]s, and thou shalt (yet) uncover [thy] skirts
over thy face, and show the nations [thy] nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame. This alludes to ...
the cities of the east, for the 'skirts' are ... the gentiles their ... their filthy abominations.
(6) And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile and render thee loathsome. (26) (7)
And it shall come to pass that all who see thee shall flee from thee. This alludes to the 'seekers after
smooth things' whose evil works will, at the end of the present epoch, become manifest to all Israel.
Many will then discern these people's iniquity and come to hate them and to hold them loathsome on
account of their guilty arrogance. Moreover, when (eventually) the glory of Judah suffers dishonor,
those in Ephraim who have hitherto been duped will flee from the midst of those men's congregation
and, renouncing them that led them astray, attach themselves (once more) to (the true) Israel. (27)
And they will say, Nineveh is ravaged, (but) who bemoans her? Whence can I seek any who will
condole with thee? This alludes to the 'seekers after smooth things' whose counsel (policy) will come
to naught and whose synagogue (28) will be dispersed. No longer will they lead the congregation
astray, and those who were previously duped will no longer hold to their counsel.
(8) Art thou better than <No> Amon, that was situate by the rivers? (29) The allusion in the term
'Amon' is to Manasseh. The 'rivers' are the grandees of Manasseh, the nobles of ... who ... the ...
Water was all around her; her rampart (hayil) was the sea; water also formed her walls. The allusion is
to the men of her army (hayil), her warriors. ... (30)
(9) Ethiopia is her strength; Egypt too, and it is endless. This alludes to the ... who ...
Put and Lubim (31) are among her supporters. This alludes to the wicked men of ... , (32) that divisive
group (33) who ally themselves with Manasseh.
(10) She too is gone into exile, into captivity; her babes are dashed in pieces at the top of every street;
over her nobles men cast lots, and her grandees are bound in chains.
This alludes to Manasseh in the final era, when its kingdom will be brought low at [the hand of] ... Its
womenfolk, babes, and infants will go into captivity; while its warriors and its honored men [will fall]
by the sword.
(11) Thou too shalt become drunken, become all be-louded. This alludes to the wicked men of
Ephraim whose cup (of doom) (34) will follow that of Manasseh, and who will become ...
Thou too shalt go seeking in the city a refuge from the foe. This alludes to the ... [who will go seeking
escape] from their enemies within (their own) cities. All thy strongholds shall be like fig trees. ...
=======
Habakkuk
~~ Chapter One ~~
(4) Therefore the law is numbed. This refers to the fact that they have rejected the Torah-that is, the
Law-of God.
For the wicked besets the righteous ... The reference (in the word 'righteous') is to the teacher who
expounds the Law aright [ ].
Therefore justice goes forth perverted.
(5) Look, ye traitors, (1) and see: marvel and be aston-ished. For it is in your own days that the deed is
being done. Ye do not believe when it is told. This refers to the traitors who have aligned themselves
with the man of lies. For they did not believe what he who expounded the Law aright told them on the
authority (*) of God. It refers also to those who betrayed the new covenant, (2) for (the word rendered
'believe' also means 'keep faith' and therefore alludes to the fact that) (3) they have not kept faith with
the Covenant of God, but have profaned His holy name. Again, it refers to future traitors-that is, to the
lawless men who will betray the Covenant and not believe when they hear all the things that are to
come upon the final age duly related by the priest whom God appoints to interpret in those days all the
words of His servants the prophets by whom He has told of that impending disaster.
(6) For lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that wild and impetuous nation. This refers to the Kittaeans, (4)
who are indeed swift and mighty in war, bent on destroying peoples far and wide and subduing them
to their own domination. They dispossess [ ] but do not believe in the ordinances of God [ ]. Over
lowland and plain they come to smite and pillage the cities of the land. This is what the Scripture
means when it speaks of them as coming to possess dwellings that are not their own.
---(*) Literally, from the mouth of.
----
(7) Dreadful and awful it is: out of itself proceed both its standard of justice and its (lust for)
deception. (6) This refers to the Kittaeans, the terror and dread of whom are upon all the nations.
Moreover, when they meet in their council, (8) all their plans are directed to doing evil; and they
behave towards all peoples with knavery and deceit
(8, 9) Swifter than leopards are its steeds, and keener than evening wolves. Their horsemen spread out
and ride abroad: they come flying from afar like a vulture that hastes to devour. They all of them come
for violence: the serried mass of their faces is a veritable eastwind (7).
This refers to the Kittaeans who thresh the earth with their horses and their beasts. Like a vulture they
come from afar, from the isles of the sea, to devour all the nations; and they are insatiable. In the heat
of fury, in searing rage, in scorching anger and with tempestuous mien (8) they speak with all the
peoples; and this is what the Scripture means when it says, the serried mass of their faces is a veritable
eastwind, and they amass spoil like sand.
(10) At kings it scoffs, and lordlings are a derision unto it. This refers to the fact that they scorn the
great and mock the noble, make sport of kings and princes, and scoff at any numerous people.
It derides every stronghold: piles up an earthmound and takes it. This refers to the rulers of the
Kittaeans who scorn the strongholds of the peoples and tauntingly deride them, surrounding them with
a great host in order to capture them. (9) Through alarm and terror the latter are surrendered into their
hands; and they overthrow them through the iniquity of those who dwell in them.
(11) Then the wind sweeps by and passes: and another, (10) whose might is his God, proceeds to
wreak devastation. (11) This refers to the rulers of the Kittaeans. In their guilt-ridden Council House
(12) they keep replacing those rulers one after another, and each comes in turn to destroy the earth.
(13)
Another whose might is his God. This refers to [ ] all the peoples.
(12b-13) Him hast thou appointed, O Lord, to wreak the judgment: and him hast thou established, O
Rock, to proffer the charge—him who has kept his vision pure, that it could not look upon
perverseness. (14) This refers to the fact that God will not exterminate His people by the hand of the
heathen, but will place the execution of judgment on all the heathen in the hands of His elect.
Moreover, it is through charges proffered by the latter that the wicked among His own people will
stand condemned—that is, the people who kept His commandments only when they were in trouble.
This is what the Scripture means by the words, him who has kept his vision pure that it could not look
upon evil. The reference is to the fact that [God's elect] did not go a-whoring after (the lust of) their
eyes during the Era of Wickedness.
(13) Why dost thou look (idly) upon traitors, and keep silent when the wicked confounds (15) him that
is more righteous than he? This refers to the 'house of Absalom' (16) and their cronies who kept silent
when charges were levelled against the teacher who was expounding the Law aright, and who did not
come to his aid against the man of lies when the latter rejected the Torah in the midst of their entire
congregation. (17)
(14-16) Thou hast made men like fishes of the sea, like crawling things, that he may have dominion
over them. (18) He takes up all of them with the angle and hauls them in his net, and gathers them in
his drag. Therefore he sacrifices to his net: therefore he rejoices and makes merry; therefore, too, he
burns incense to his net: because thereby his portion is rich ... This again refers to the Kittaeans. What
with all their plunder, they keep increasing their wealth like a shoal of fish. And as for the statement,
therefore he sacrifices to his net and burns incense to his drag, this refers to the fact that they offer
sacrifice to their ensigns and that their weapons are objects of veneration to them. (19)
For thereby is their portion fat and their food rich.
This refers to the fact that they apportion among all the peoples annual assignments of forced labor (†)
and tribute designed to provide them with food, thereby devastating many lands. (20)
(17) Therefore does he bare his sword, (21) and never spares to slay nations. This refers to the
Kittaeans who destroy many by the sword—youths, adults (?) (22) and old men, women and children
alike—and have not pity even on the fruit of the womb.
---[†] Literally, 'their yoke'.
---~~ Chapter Two ~~
(1, 2) I will take my stand on my watch and post myself on my tower, and scan the scene to see
whereof He will denounce me and what answer I might give when He arraigns me. And the Lord took
up word with me and said: Write the vision, and make it plain upon tablets that he who runs may read.
God told Habakkuk to write down the things that were to come upon the latter age, but He did not
inform him when that moment would come to fulfilment. As to the phrase, that he who runs may read,
this refers to the teacher who expounds the Law aright, for God has made him au courant (23) with all
the deeper implications of the words of His servants the prophets.
(3) For the vision is yet for the appointed time. Though it lags (24) toward the moment, it will not be
belied. This refers to the fact that the final moment may be protracted beyond anything which the
prophets have foretold, for 'God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform'. (25)
Though it tarry, yet await it; for it will surely come, it will not delay. This is addressed (‡) to the men
of truth, the men who carry out the Law [Torah], who do not relax from serving the Truth even though
the final moment be long drawn out. Assuredly, all the times appointed by God will come in due
course, even as He has determined in His inscrutable wisdom.
(4) Behold, his soul shall be swollen, not reduced therein (§) (26) This refers to the fact that they will
pile up for themselves a double requital (27) for their sins, and shall not be quit of judgment for them.
But the righteous through his faithfulness shall live.
This refers to all in Jewry (28) who carry out the Law [Torah]. On account of their labor and of their
faith in him who expounded the Law aright, God will deliver them from the house of judgment.
(5, 6) Moreover, because wealth (29) betrays, a man grows prurient (30) and behaves unseemly, (31)
in that he grows greedy like Sheol (32) and insatiable as death. All the nations are gathered unto him,
and all the peoples are amassed unto him. Shall not they all take up a parable against him and heap on
him jesting satire and say: 'Woe unto him who amasses what is not his! How long shall it last! He is
merely heaping pledges (which must someday be returned)!' (33)
This refers to the wicked priest who, when first he came to office, enjoyed a reputation for truth, (34)
but who, when he came to rule in Israel, grew arrogant and abandoned God, betraying His statutes for
the sake of wealth, plundering and amassing for himself the kind of wealth usually acquired by
criminals who have rebelled against God. He also took public property, thereby merely heaping upon
himself the penalty of guilt Furthermore, he practised abomination, involving every kind of impurity
and filth. (35)
---[‡] Literally, 'this refers'.
[§] Literally, 'Behold, his soul is swollen, not levelled therein'. In the Hebrew, the contrast is between
a protuberance and level ground. But it is virtually impossible to reproduce this effect in English.
---(7, 8a) Will not they suddenly rise who will 'put their bite' (36) on thee, and will they not (suddenly)
'sting' (37) who shall rudely disturb thee? ... Because thou hast plundered nations aplenty, all the rest
of the peoples (will) plunder thee? This refers to the priest who rebelled [and violated] the statutes of
God, thereby causing himself to be smitten with the judgments of wickedness. The horrors of evil
diseases acted upon him and he paid the price of his misdeeds in the body of his flesh. (38)
And as for the phrase, because thou hast plundered nations aplenty, all the rest of the peoples will
plunder thee, this refers to the final priests of Jerusalem who will amass for themselves wealth and
gain by plundering the people, but whose wealth and plunder will ultimately be delivered into the
hands of the army of the Kittaeans, i.e. 'the rest of the peoples'.
(8b) Because of human bloodshed and the violence done to land and city and to all that dwell therein.
This refers to the wicked priest. Because of the mischief which he had done to him who taught the
Law aright and to the men associated with him, God delivered him into the hands of his enemies, that
they might torture him with scourging and wear him out with bitterness of spirit for acting
unrighteously against His elect.
(9-11) Woe unto him who gets evil gain for his house, setting his nest on high, to be safe from the
reach of harm! Thou hast planned but shame for thy house—the cutting off many peoples, and thou
hast sinned against thine own self! For the stone shall cry out from the wall, and the beam from the
woodwork respond! This refers to the [ ] who planned to build himself a mansion In such a way that
its very stones would be furnished through oppression and the beams of its woodwork through
robbery. (39) And as for the phrase the cutting off of many peoples and thou hast sinned against thine
own self, this refers to the House of Judgment where God will render His judgment in the midst of
many peoples. Thence will He in turn transport him for the execution of sentence, and in their midst
He will condemn him and sentence him to the fire of brimstone.
(12, 13) Woe unto him who builds a city by bloodshed and founds a town by wrongdoing! Behold,
will it not come from the Lord of hosts that peoples shall labor only for fire, and nations weary
themselves for naught? This state- ment refers to the preacher of lies who misled many people into
building a worthless city by bloodshed and into establishing a community by falsehood, (40) directing
their efforts (41) to the service of vanity and instructing them in deeds of falsehood. The result will be
that all their labors will prove in vain, since they will encounter the judgment of fire for having abused
and defamed God's elect.
(14) For the earth shall be filed with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as waters cover the sea.
This statement refers to the fact that when God eventually re-stores them to their former glory, [ ]
falsehood [will] [ ], and thereafter knowledge will be revealed to them, abundant as the waters of the
sea.
(15) Woe unto him that plies his neighbor with drink, that pours out his flask [hematho], yea, makes
him drunk, in order to gaze on their festivals! (42) This refers to the wicked priest, who chased after
the true exponent of the Law, right to the house where he was dwelling In exile, (43) in order to
confuse him by a display of violent temper [hamatho], and who then, on the occasion of the rest-day
of Atonement, appeared to them in full splendor in order to confuse them and trip them up on the day
of the fast, the day of their sabbatical rest. (44)
(16) Thou art sated with disgrace instead of with honor. The cup in the Lord's right hand will come
around unto thee, and basest disgrace will fall upon thine honor.
This refers to the priest whose disgrace exceeded his honor, because he did not circumcise the foreskin
of his heart, but kept walking in the ways of drunken debauch in order to slake his (insatiable) thirst.
The cup of God's wrath will confound him, so that all he will really increase will be [shame, disgrace]
and anguish.
(17) The crime (committed) against Lebanon shall overwhelm thee and the violence done to dumb
beasts shall crush you, (45) because of human bloodshed and of violence done to land and city and to
all that dwell therein. The statement refers to the wicked priests and means that God will mete out to
him the treatment that he meted out to the needy. 'Lebanon' stands here for the Communal Council,
(46) and 'dumb beasts' for the simple-minded Jews who have been carrying out the Law [Torah]. God
will condemn him to annihilation, even as he plotted to annihilate the needy.
And as to the statement, because of blood shed in the city and violence done against the land, the 'city'
refers to Jerusalem wherein the wicked priest wrought his abominable works and wherein he denied
the sanctuary of God; while the 'violence done against the land' refers to the cities of Jewry (47)
wherein he plundered the property of the needy.
(18) What value has a graven idol, when its maker has graven it, or a molten image, or teachers of
lies? For the maker is but trusting in his own creation, is simply making dumb idols! This statement
refers to the idols which the heathen make to serve and worship. On the day of judgment these will not
deliver them.
(19) Woe unto him that says to a stock, awake: to a dumb stone, arise! This refers to [ ].
(20) Hush before the Lord, all the earth! This refers to all the heathen who have been worshipping
stock and stone. On the Day of Judgment God will annihilate all who worship idols and all the wicked
from the earth.
=======
Psalm 37
(7) Wait quietly for the LORD, (*) be patient till He comes; fret not over him whose way runs smooth,
the man who achieves his ends. The reference is to the Man of Lies, who has been seducing the
masses by falsehoods, in that they have come to choose ungodliness and have given no ear to him who
has been mediating (true) knowledge; for these men will (eventually) perish by sword, famine, and
plague.
---(*) Written in archaic script.
---(8, 9) Refrain from anger and abandon wrath; fret not thyself, it tendeth only to evil-doing. For evildoers shall be cut off. This applies to those who return to the Law [Torah] and do not refuse to repent
their evil-doing. Those, however, who are defiant about repenting their iniquity will be cut off.
But they that wait upon the LORD-those shall inherit the earth. The reference in the word those' is to
the congregation of God's elect, the men who do His will.
(10) Yet a little, and the wicked shall not be. Though I (1) look closely at his place, he shall not be.
This refers to all <who practise> (2) wickedness. At the end of forty years which are (first) to be
completed, (3) no wicked man shall be found on earth.
(11) But the meek shall inherit the earth and delight in peace abounding. This refers to the
congregation of the men who are poor (4) (currently) having to accept a period of affliction, but who
will eventually be delivered from all snares of Belial and thereafter enjoy all the [riches] of the earth
and regale themselves on all the delights of the flesh.
(12, 13) The wicked schemes against the righteous and gnashes his teeth over him; but the LORD will
laugh at him, for He has seen that his day is coming. This refers to those in the house of Judah who
violate the Covenant in that they scheme to make an end of all in the council of the community who
carry out the Law. God, however, will not abandon the latter into their hands.
(14, 15) The wicked have drawn out the sword and bent their bows to cast down the poor and needy
and to slay such as walk the straight road. Their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall
be broken in pieces.
This refers to the wicked men of Ephraim and Manasseh (5) who seek to assail the priest and the men
of like counsel when this time of testing is come upon them. Howbeit, God will rescue the latter out of
their hand, and thereafter they themselves will be delivered into the hands of heathen desperadoes, that
judgment may be executed upon them.
(16) The little that is owned by one righteous man is worth more than the wealth of many who are
wicked.
This refers to those who carry out the Law and do not [abandon themselves] to evil things.
(17, 18) For the arms of [the wicked will be broken], but the LORD will uphold the righteous. The
LORD [knows that the blameless will have their day, and their heritage will endure for ever. This
refers to those who do] His will [ ].
(19) They shall suffer no hurt (6) through [evil times. ...This refers to] those who will (eventually)
come back from the wilderness (7) and live in safe[ty] (8) for a thousand generations. (9) The whole
heritage of Adam shall be theirs and their seed's for ever. (10)
(20) But the wicked shall perish. This means that God will sustain such men when they go hungry in
this period of affliction, whereas the masses who did not participate in that exodus and who [refused]
to go along with the con-gregation of God's elect will perish through famine and plague.
Howbeit, they that love the LORD (11) shall be like prized lambs. (12) This means that they will
become leaders and princes [among His people, like] < bellwethers > (13) among their flocks.
(But those others') shall vanish like smoke; they shall be brought to an end. (14) This refers to those
princes of (the realm of) wickedness who have been oppressing God's holy people. They shall vanish
like the smoke of a firebrand [in the] wind.
(21, 22) The wicked borrows and does not repay, but the righteous is generous and gives. Verily, they
that are blessed of God shall inherit the earth, but they that are cursed of Him shall be cut off. This
refers to that congregation of poor men who have been willing to [make over] their entire estate to the
[common fund]. (15) These shall obtain as their possession that 'most eminent of Israel's mountains'
(16) and revel in Him who sits in holiness upon it. But as to the 'cursed' who are to be 'cut off— these
are the wicked men in Israel who violate the Covenant. They shall be cut off and [destroyed] for ever.
(23, 24) The goings of a man are ordered by the and He is concerned (17) with his every step. Though
he fall, he shall not be flung headlong, for the LORD [grasps his hand] in support. This refers to the
Priest who expounds the Law correctly, (18) whose office God has bespoken, whom He has appointed
to build for Him a congregation (19) of [holiness (?)] and to whom He has given a straight way to His
truth.
(25, 26) I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor His seed
begging bread. All the day long He is gracious and lends, and His seed becomes a blessing. This refers
to him who expounds the Law [correctly ].
(28) [Wrongdoers'] are destroyed for ever, and the offspring of the wi[cked are cut off]. These are the
men who violate [the Covenant and spurn] the Law.
(29) The righteous [shall inherit the earth and dwell for] ever upon it. [This refers to the fact that they
will endure] through a thousand [generations].
(30, 31) [The mouth of the wicked utters] wisdom, and his tongue speaks [justice. He gives mind to
the guidance given by his God (wherefore) his steps do not slip. This refers to] the Truth which [God]
has spoken [ ], He has told them [ ].
(32, 33) The wicked watches out for the righteous, and seeks [to put him to death. The Lo]rd [will not
abandon him into his hand, nor] suffer him to be condemned when he is arraigned. This refers to the
Wicked [Pri]est (20) who watc[hes out] for the right[eous and seeks] to put him to death [so as to
subvert the Covenant] and the Law which God has transmitted to him. Howbeit, God will not
aban[don him] nor [suffer him to be condemned when] he is arraigned, but will deal to (that villain)
his deserts by delivering him into the hands of heathen desperadoes, to execute [judgment] upon him,
(34) [Wait for the] LORD, and keep to His way, and He will exalt thee to possess the earth. Thou wilt
see the wicked cut off. This refers to the fact that they will see wickedness adjudged, and rejoice along
with God's elect in an inheritance of truth.
(35, 36) I have seen the wicked flourishing wild in all his naked pride, (21) like a flowering tree in its
native soil; but anon I passed by (22) [and lo, he] was gone. I s[ought him] but he could not [be found.
This refers] to the Man of Lies (23) [who has been vaunting himself] against God's elect [and see]king
to stop [the sons of righteousness from ob]ser[ving the precepts of the Law] whereby they might do
[deeds] of justice. (24) Highhandedly has he been venting his presumption [ ].
(37) [Mark the blameless man and behold] the upright, [for there is pos]te[rity for the ma]n of peace.
This re-fers to [ They will enjoy] a peaceful [futu]re.
(38) But transgressors shall be destroyed one and all, and the posterity of the wicked shall be cut off].
This means that [ ] will perish and be cut off from the midst of the congregation of the community.
=======
Psalm 45
(In order to render these comments intelligible, it is necessary to present the Scriptural text and our
author's literal understanding of it side by side.)
Scriptural Text
=======
Notes - Isaiah
1. The comments are culled from four different manuscripts; for details, see the list of sources, below,
pp. 541ff. Comments on other passages are too fragmentary for translation, and in some cases only the
Scriptural text, without the interpretation, is preserved.
2. The author is evidently interpreting the thorns and thistles to refer symbolically to those that seek to
obstruct Israel from following the true path. The words, their eyes, may be the conclusion of a
sentence saying that, in consequence of these men's machinations, the bulk of the people are following
the sinful inclination of their hearts and eyes (cf. M. v.5) or doing what is right in their own eyes (cf.
Z. viii.7; xix.20).
3. For the convenience of the reader, I have borrowed Moffatt's rendering, which turns the Hebrew
measures into English equivalents.
4. This is a precise eschatological epoch; cp. Manual, iii.18; iv.19, 26, 'Zadokite' Document, xix.10.
5. Literally (RSV), They have lyre and harp, timbrel and flute and wine at their feasts.
6. Heb. Sheol, i.e., the netherworld.
7. Literally, 'men of scoffing'—the same expression as in the 'Zadokite' Document, xx.11; cp. also ib.,
i.14.
8. Heb. Torah.
9. Although the point is irrelevant to our author's interpretation, it may be suggested that in the
Scriptural verse, the Lord is an interpolation due to wrong exegesis, the subject of the sentence being
really the king of Assyria, who was in fact turned back at the very gates of Jerusalem; cp. Isa. 37.3637. In that case, the sense of the verb would be inchoative, i.e., 'when he is about to consummate what
.he is doing', etc,
10. As a parallel to 'fruit', the Hebrew word tiph'ereth, which usually means 'pride, splendor', may
perhaps here be derived from the root p-'-r II (whence p'urah, 'branch') and rendered 'burgeoning'.
11. Actually, the prophecy was directed against Assyria, but in applying it to current events the author
may be using the name Babylon, as frequently in rabbinic literature, as a cautious pseudonym for
Rome.
12. The point is that the Hebrew word hoq means both 'bound' and 'statute'.
13. Since the whole purpose of the commentary is to give the prophecy a contemporary relevance, this
seems the obvious restoration.
14. In the Scriptural context, the reference is, of course, to the king of Assyria. It should be observed
that the verb here rendered 'stay themselves' is also used spe-cifically of leaning on a staff, so that the
words 'one who merely smites them' continue this image.
15. The Hebrew words mean literally, 'God, the Warrior' or 'a divine champion"; the implication being
that instead of relying on an earthly emperor, they will recognize God as the true conquering hero.
16. Restored ad sensum.
17. NEB: 'justice in full flood'. The picture is suggested, of course, by the preceding reference to
'sands of the sea'.
18. The manuscript appears to read 'Acco, i.e., the seaport of Acre. From the other places named,
however, it is plain that the Redeemer is imagined as advancing upon Jerusalem from the east and
northeast, through the I territory of Benjamin—consonant with the words of Isa. 41.2 (originally
referring to Cyrus): 'Whom hath He roused from the east', etc. (Cp. also Sibylline Oracles, iii.652f.)
Acre therefore lies in the wrong direction, besides being too far away, and we must assume a scribal
error for 'Achor (Jos. 7.24; 15.7; Isa.
65.10; Hos. 2.17), i.e., the valley of the Wadi Dabr and the Wadi Mukelik, east of 'Aiath (Ai),
Michmas Geba', etc.
19. The context suggests the restoration, '[Benjamin]'.
20. Cp. War, passim; Introduction, pp. 27-28.
21. The Scriptural text is usually taken to mean, 'Lebanon with its majestic ones (i.e., cedars) shall
fall'; but the Hebrew is ambiguous, and our author evidently understood it (as a strict parallel to 'with
an ax') in the sense of 'Lebanon by the agency of its own majestic ones shall fall'.
22. I restore: [sha]lom.
23. Cp. Jen 23.5; 33.15; Zech. 12.6.
24. I restore ['oye]baw, preceded by a verb antithetical in sense to 'uphold'.
25. These are standard appurtenances of the messianic king. For the 'throne of glory', cf. Isa. 22.23; for
the 'holy crown', cf. Ps. 132.18 (where the Ancient Versions read significantly, 'upon him shall My
crown flourish' instead of 'his crown', as in the Masoretic text). A similar description is given in the
late Jewish midrash entitled 'Chapters about the Messiah' (J. D. Eisenstein, ed., Osar Midrashim
[1928], ii, 393b): 'In that hour the Holy One, blessed be He, will adorn the Messiah with a crown and
set upon his head a helmet of salvation [Isa. 59.17], and endue him with a majestic sheen and lustre,
and attire him in glorious garments and make him stand upon a high mountain to herald glad tidings to
Israel; and he will proclaim, "Salvation is nigh!"'
26. A gap in the text prevents our knowing what was supposed to be placed in the hand of the
messianic king. A clue might perhaps be found in the words of Isa. 22.21, 23—to which verses,
indeed, our passage is indebted: the priest, there envisaged as exercising the royal office, is said to be
clothed in the regal robe and girdle and to have the government (or the insignia of government?)
committed into his hand. Alternatively, we may think of the later Jewish belief (attested, for instance,
in the Persian version of The Apocalypse of Daniel) that the Messiah would carry in his hand the
wonder-working rod of Moses—a belief which appears also in Samaritan sources (e.g., Asatir xii.24;
Cowley, Samaritan Liturgy, 51 Iff.; Ma'lf, § 49; Scroll of Itamar, quoted in M. Gaster, Samaritan
Eschatology [1932], 263).
27. See above, pp. 27-28; cf. also Analytical Index, E. 2 (i).
28. In the future dispensation, the anointed king is to be subject to the authority of the anointed priest;
see below, pp. 392, 441. The point is made explicitly in the pseudepigraphic Testament of Judah, iv.24.
29. What is envisaged is, of course, the investiture of the messianic king.
30. It may be suggested that in the Scriptural text these words, usually taken to refer to God's plan,
really re-fer sarcastically to the grandiose schemes of the king of Assyria, the following verse then
providing a crush ing counterblast.
31. The defective state of the manuscript prevents our determining the verse in Zechariah which our
author has in mind. Perhaps it is Zech. 1.6: 'Like as the Lord of Hosts purposed to do unto us,
according to our doings, so has He dealt with us'.
32. In view of the statement, 'your eyes shall see', I inter-pret the Hebrew word yikkaneph (a
denominative verb from kanaph, 'edge of a garment') in the sense in which the cognate term is used in
Arabic.
33. In Hebrew the word means also 'teachers', inevitably suggesting the future true expounders of the
Law (vulgo teachers of righteousness').
34. This is usually rendered (RSV), When you turn to the right and when you turn to the left, but it is
difficult to see how any path can be described as the right one if one can turn off it arbitrarily to either
side! I there fore take the words to constitute a concessive clause (It may be suggested that the true
reading of the Scriptural text is koh ... wekoh, rather than ki ... weki, i e., 'here you must turn to the
right, and there to the left'.)
35. The Hebrew word for 'wrongdoing' means properly 'deviation, aberration', and this is the basis of
the interpretation.
36. A fragmentary comment on these verses (DJD V, No. 176, frags. 8-11) refers them to a period
during which Israel will be in a state of exhaustion waiting for the words of consolation and the
abounding glory which God will vouchsafe and to the discomfiture of Belial who will no longer be
able to afflict his servants. The fragments are too mutilated to allow of translation.
=======
Hosea
1. Cp. Deut 28.28.
2. Cp. 'Zadokite' Document, i.3; xx.23.
3. An eschatological era; cp. Manual, iii.18; iv.19, 26; 'Zadokite' Document, vii.9; viii.3; xix.6, 10, 15.
4. Cp. 'Zadokite' Document, i.7; Hymns iii.28. See also Analytical Index, E. 1 (a).
=======
Micah
1. This interpretation is based on the fact that the Hebrew words rendered a place for the planting of a
vineyard could also be translated (purely formally), them that lead the vineyard astray. Since Israel is
described in Scripture as God's vineyard (Isa. 5.1; 27.2), our author fancifully took the verse to mean
that God would eventually 'dump' the false teachers who misled His people.
2. What the prophet meant, of course, was that Jerusalem had been turned into the equivalent of a
pagan 'high place' or sanctuary. But our author took the words to imply the converse of what had
previously been said. Israel, he declares, has turned to idolatry; but the true 'high place' of the Jews is
the temple in Jerusalem. His further interpretation is based on the fact that the name Jerusalem can be
fancifully explained as containing the two elements, y-r-h, 'teach' and shalom, 'peace'. The true
sanctuary, he suggests is that built by the righteous teachers who ensure peace and security on the Day
of Judgment!
3. This is a tentative restoration, seeking to recover what may have been our author's way of
interpreting the Scriptural text. It is based on the fact that the Hebrew word rendered roll down
resembles that which means sojourn, while the word rendered uncover is identical in form with that
meaning drive into exile. The 'stones' and 'foundations' of idolatry would readily have been identified
with the venal priests of Jerusalem.
4. The basis of this interpretation is that the gate of the city was the place of judgment.
5. This interpretation is suggested by the fact that the Hebrew word for 'gate', viz. sha'ar, resembles the
name Se'ir, and thus calls to mind Deut. 33.2: 'The Lord came from Sinai, and rose from Se'ir unto
them'. Cp. also Judges 5.4.
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Nahum
1. This rendering attempts to reproduce the alliteration in the Hebrew. The expression is something of
a clich'e; cp. Isa. 29.6; Amos 1.14; Ps. 83.16.
2. The basis of this interpretation would seem to be that the Hebrew word for 'expanse' (viz. raqi'a)
suggests the verb r-q- meaning 'stamp to dust' (II Sam. 22.43; Ezek. 6.11; 23.6).
3. The restoration (viz. br[dtd yzd'zu, vel. sim.]) is simply a guess.
4. In the Scriptural context, this is a transference to Yahweh of an older Canaanite myth relating how
Baal discomfited the Lord of the Sea. The myth is related on tablets discovered at Ras Shamra-Ugarit,
and has Mesopotamian and Hittite parallels; cp. T. H. Gaster, Thespis (2) (1961), pp. 137-53. In the
Bible, the phrase is virtually demythologized.
5. See above, General Introduction, pp. 27-28.
6. For this expression cp. Hymns frag. 5.7.
7. Cp. the exposition of Isa. 10.34; above, pp. 306-7.
8. Literally, 'the men of his counsel'; for this expression, cp. HabC. v.10; ix.10; Hymns vi.10; 11.13;
MFC i.3. Note that the scheming of Belial is specifically mentioned in Nahum 1.11.
9. See Analytical Index, A. 5.
10. Cp. Isa. 5.25; 63.19; 64.2; Jer. 4.24; Micah 1.4; Ps. 18.18.
11. Not impossibly, the mention of the Lord's 'blazing wrath' was taken to refer to the eschatological
'Era of Wrath', concerning which see Analytical Index, E. 1 (a).
12. The interpretation is based on Pss. 26.8; 68.6; 76.3; II Chron. 36.15, where Jerusalem (Zion) is
designated as God's 'abode'; and on Jer. 2.15, where the adversaries of Israel are described as 'young
lions'.
13. The comment alludes to an incident described by Josephus (Ant., Xlll, 14.1-2) in connection with
an uprising of the Jews against the cruelty of Alexander Jannaeus, around 88 B.C.: They sent also to
Demetrius Eucerus [king of Syria] and besought him to make common cause with them in their
defense. So Demetrius came with an army and took those that had invited him, and pitched camp near
Shechem. Thereupon, Alexander, with his 6,200 mercenaries and about 20,000 Jews who were of his
party, went forth against Demetrius, who had 3,000 horsemen and 40,000 foot soldiers ... (Eventually)
they joined battle. Demetrius won, and all of Alexander's mercenaries were slain ... Alexander took to
the hills'. (The story is told also in War, I, 4.4-5.) Evidently, after his victory, Demetrius sought to
enter Jerusalem and claim the throne.
14. Evidently, Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175-164 B.C.).
15. The 'Kittians' are here evidently identified with the Romans, as later in the Aramaic Version
(Targum) of Num. 24.24 and in the Vulgate.
16. The comment shows that the author read the Hebrew word BeDe, 'sufficient for', as BaDDe, 'limbs'
(cp. Job 18.13).
17. Warriors or heroes are called 'mighty lions' in II Sam. 23.20; Isa. 33.7-according to a traditional
interpretation—and 'whelps' (Ezek. 32.2). A similar expression is frequent in Arabic (e.g. Yaqut, III.
437, 17; 615, 13). Comparable also is Aeschylus, Choephori, 939, where Orestes and Pylades are so
described. Cp. also Euripides, Orestes, 1401.
18. Cp. Josephus, loc. cit.: 'Some 6,000 Jews, moved to pity by the change in Alexander's fortune,
gathered together and joined him. At this, Demetrius grew alarmed, and withdrew from the country.
The Jews then turned on Alexander, but were defeated and slain in great numbers. When he had shut
up the most powerful of them in the city Bethone, he besieged them therein; and when he had captured
the city and brought those men into his power, he had them transported to Jerusalem and perpetrated
upon them one of the most barbarous acts in the world. For while he was carousing with his
concubines, in full view of the citizenry, he ordered some eight hundred of those men to be crucified;
and, while they were still alive, he ordered the throats of their children and their wives to be slit before
their eyes. This was by way of revenge for the injury they had done him' (Whiston's translation,
slightly revised).
19. The Mishnah (Sanhedrin, 6.4) records the opinion of the sages that 'none is hanged save the
blasphemer and the idolater'. This is an interpretation of the Scriptural text (Deut. 21.23) that 'he that is
hanged is a curse (reproach) to God', in the sense that hanging presupposes blasphemy.
20. The comment shows that our author read RBKH, 'thy multitude', not RKBH, 'its chariotry', as in
the traditional (Masoretic) text. His reading agrees with that of the Greek (Septuagint) and Syriac
(Peshitta) Versions.
21. Cp. Commentary on Habakkuk 2.5-6 (below, pp. 322ff.).
22. 'Ephraim' and 'Israel' denote the Samaritans, who claimed to be the remnant of the Northern
Kingdom and to be descended from Ephraim and Manasseh.
23. I.e., the Samaritans, who claimed descent from Ephraim and Manasseh, and betrayed the Jews on
numerous occasions; cp. Josephus, Ant., IX.14, 3; XI.8, 6; XII.5, 6.
24. For this style, cp. Hymns ii.15, 32; 'Zadokite' Document, i.18, etc.
25. Heb. talmud.
26. The traditional Hebrew text and the Ancient Versions read 'gazing-stock'. A transposition of two
letters yields our author's reading.
27. Cp. Josephus, Ant., IX.14, 3 (of the Samaritans): 'When they see the Jews in prosperity, they
pretend that they are changed, and allied to them, and call themselves kinsmen, as though they were
derived from Joseph and had by that means an original alliance with them; but when they see them
falling into a low condition, they say they are in no way related to them' (trans. Whiston).
28. Heb. keneseth (from k-n-s, 'gather'); hence the antithesis of 'be dispersed'.
29. Heb. by the streams of the Nile. No Amon was Egyptian Thebes.
30. The commentator obviously took the prophet's words to mean that the city's ramparts had
dissolved like water. For this imagery, cp. Jos. 7.5.
31. Properly, Somaliland and Libya.
32. Only the final letter -h remains. Perhaps restore: [Juda]h.
33. Heb. house of Peleg; cp. 'Zadokite' Document, viii.45. The identification was inspired by the initial
letters of Put and Lubim.
34. For the imagery, cp. Hab. 2.16.
=======
Habakkuk
1. The traditional (Masoretic) text reads, 'Look ye among the nations' (Heb. BaGoYiM). Our author
read, by a slight change, BoGeDiM, 'traitors'—a read-ing also found in the ancient Greek (Septuagint)
Version.
2. Cp. 'Zadokite? Document, vi, 19; viii, 21; xx, 12-13: and see General Introduction, pp. 5, 23.
3. These words have been inserted to bring out the basis of the author's interpretation.
4. See Introduction to The War of the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness, below, p. 399.
5. The traditional (Masoretic) text reads, 'Its judgment and its dignity proceed from itself, i.e., 'it is a
law to itself. It is apparent, however, from his subsequent comment that our author construed the
Hebrew word se'tho, usually rendered 'his dignity', as somehow connected with the verb hishi',
'deceive'.
6. This is obviously intended as an interpretation of the words, 'His judgment [standard of justice]
proceeds from himself.
7. The traditional text reads, '[are turned] eastwards' [or, 'look straight ahead'].
8. All of the terms used in the Hebrew can refer either to temper or to tempest; and this is the basis of
the interpretation.
9. This has been thought to refer to standard Roman methods of laying siege to a city.
10. Literally, 'this one', which the author construed as meaning 'so-and-so'.
11. The traditional text reads, 'and becomes guilty'—Heb. ve-ashem. Our author read ve-yashem, 'and
devastates'.
12. This has been thought to allude to the Roman Senate.
13. The allusion may be general rather than specific. In any case, it would fit several different
historical situa-tions, so that, in the absence of further information attempts to precise it would seem
both premature and futile.
14. The prophet's words are usually construed differently, viz. 'Thou hast set him, O Rock, for
judgment, and established him, O Rock, for correction. [Thou art] purer of eyes than to behold evil,
and canst not look on perverseness'.
15. The hebrew word [bl'] means both 'swallow up' and 'confound'. It is evident that our author
understood it in the latter sense.
16. Not to be taken literally as referring to a particular person called Absalom. The expression means
simply, 'conspirators like the associates of the Biblical Absalom'.
17. See General Introduction, p. 29.
18. The traditional text reads, 'Which have no ruler over them'.
19. This is thought to refer to the Roman practise of worshipping military standards. This, however, is
not definitely attested before Imperial times.
20. Josephus tells us (Ant., XIV, 4.5) that, until its capture by Pompey in 63 B.C., the city of
Jerusalem had often to pay more than 2,000 talents annually in tribute to its foreign masters.
21. The traditional (Masoretic) text reads, 'His net' (Heb. hermo). Our author, by a change of one
letter, read harbo, 'his sword'.
22. The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain.
23. This seems the only way of reproducing the author's interpretation of the words, 'That he who runs
may read' (literally, 'that he who reads may run').
24. The Hebrew word (YAFIaH) is usually rendered 'pants, hastens' or possibly 'depones'. But from
his subsequent interpretation it seems that the author connected it with a like-sounding root, preserved
in Syriac and Arabic, meaning 'be feeble, debilitated, laggard'.
25. Literally, 'for the mysteries of God are destined to be performed wondrously'.
26. King James Version: 'Behold, his soul [which] is lifted up is not upright in him'. American Jewish
Version 'Behold, his soul is puffed up, it is not upright in him' The Revised Standard Version resorts to
conjectura emendation and renders: 'Behold, he whose soul is not upright in him shall fall'. This,
however, is patently wrong, because it misses the contrast between the two Hebrew words in question,
the one of which mean: 'swollen, protuberant' and the other 'low-lying, level'
27. The interpretation is based on a play on words: the term rendered 'swollen' is 'ft, which the author
fancifully identifies with the like-sounding kfl, 'be double', and this at once suggests to him Isa. 40.2.
28. Heb. Judah.
29. The Hebrew ('Masoretic') text has hayayin, 'wine'. By a slight change, our author read hon,
'wealth'.
30. The Hebrew word yahir is usually derived from a root yhr which is assumed to mean 'be proud'
and is therefore rendered 'grows insolent'. But our author may well have connected it with the Syriac
and late Heb. hrhr, 'be prurient'.
31. The Hebrew word ynvh is usually connected with naveh, 'dwelling', and rendered 'and abides not
at home'. But our author evidently identified it with an homophonous nvh (=n'h), 'be comely, seemly'.
32. I.e., the netherworld.
33. King James Version: 'Woe to him that increaseth [that which is] not his! how long? and to him that
ladeth himself with thick clay!' (The 'thick clay' is here com-pounded out of ancient ignorance of what
the relevant Hebrew word meant. We now know that it signified 'pledge(s)'.)
34. Literally, 'who was called (renowned) for truth'. The assumption that this refers to his actual name,
which he subsequently changed, is quite erroneous and over looks a common Hebrew idiom.
35. See above, n. 13.
36. This colloquialism seems the only way of reproducing the effect of the Hebrew, which lies in the
fact that the word for 'creditor, usurer' derives from a verbal root meaning 'bite'!
37. The Hebrew word (yakisu), usually rendered 'awake', is fancifully construed by our author as if it
were the very similar ya'kisu, 'sting'. Once again, an English colloquialism best conveys the point.
38. A. Dupont-Sommer has suggested that the reference is to the wicked priest Aristobulus II who was
arrested and imprisoned and finally died of poison in prison at the hands of Pompey's supporters. But
to die of poison is not to die of loathsome diseases, and what our author is trying specifically to
interpret is Habak-kuk's reference to 'bites' and 'stings'. Besides, this whole business of looking for
precise historical allusions seems grossly overdone; the passages in question may have in mind typical
rather than actual cases. The use of the perfect tense is not against this; we may render: 'This refers to
the kind of wicked priest who, in the past, was invariably exposed to this and this suffering', etc.
39. Here again the reference may be typical rather than actual.
40. H. H. Rowley (The Zadokite Fragments and the Dead Sea Scrolls, [1952], p. 67) makes the
ingenious suggestion that this refers to the rebuilding of the city of David in the time of Antiochus
Epiphanes, mentioned in I Mace. 1.33. The wicked priest, he thinks, was Menelaus. But once again we
may be chary of precise identifications.
41. Literally, 'making them weary themselves in'.
42. The traditional (Masoretic) text reads, 'in order to gaze on their nakedness' (me'orehem). In the
ancient Hebrew script, the letters r and d are often barely distinguishable, and our author evidently
read me'ode-hem. However, he took this to mean 'their staggerings' (rtm-'-d) rather than 'their festivals'
(mo'ed), as usually understood. Hence, he interpreted the Scriptural text as referring to an occasion
when the congregation was made to totter (or stumble) in the observance of a holy day.
43. See General Introduction, p. 19. The Hebrew expression (ABYT GLUT0) has been read
differently (viz. ABOT GLUTO) and rendered 'desiring his exile', i.e., aiming to drive him into exile.
Other considerations apart, however, it should be observed that the verb A-B-H (from which ABoT
would derive) means properly 'assent to, comply with', rather than 'desire, aspire to, aim at'.
44. Cp. Lev. 16.31; 23.32.
45. The Scriptural text says: The violence of Lebanon (i.e., which lurks in the forests of Lebanon) and
the assault of beasts shall crush (or, affright) you. Our author, however, takes the words, of Lebanon
and of beasts, as objective rather than subjective genitives (a construction paralleled in Joel 4.19).
Substantially the same interpretation as is here given is to be found also in the Aramaic Targum in
loc., and is adopted in NEB.
46. The name Lebanon means 'white' (referring to the white cliffs). The point of the interpretation lies
in the fact that the members of the Brotherhood wore white—as do the modern Samaritans and
Mandaeans.
47. Heb. Judah.
=======
Psalm 37
1. The received (Masoretic) text reads: Though thou look'.
2. A word (Heb. 'ose) has dropped out.
3. In accordance with the common Jewish tradition that the 'Messianic' ministry will last for forty
years and then be followed by the Golden Age.
4. The Hebrew word is ebyonim, and this has inspired the theory that the Qumran Covenanters were
really the Ebiomtes, rather than the Essenes. But the inference is unnecessary, for it is difficult to see
what other word the writer could possibly have used in the normal sense of 'poor, needy'.
5. The interpretation is inspired by Ps. 78.9: The children of Ephraim were as archers handling the
bow'. The reference is to the Samaritans; see note 10 to The Commentary on Nahum.
6. The Hebrew word is usually rendered 'be shamed', but in Aramaic (and in Arabic) it has the sense of
'suffer misfortune' or even 'be ill', and the subsequent comment shows that the writer so understood it.
(The actual quotation from Scripture is missing in the manuscript; it was written at the foot of the
preceding column, which is now lost.)
7. To be understood metaphorically as well as literally; see Introduction, pp. 4, 27.
8. Restoring beyesh[a'] rather than beyosh[er], which is suggested by Allegro. Cp. Jer. 23.6.
9. In fulfillment of the Scriptural promise, Deut 7.9.
10. Cp. Gen. 12.7; 15.8; 17.7-8; 28.13; Deut. 1.8.
11. The received (Masoretic) text and all the Ancient Versions read 'But the enemies of the Lord'. In
the Hebrew, there is a difference of only one letter.
12. RSV: The enemies of the Lord are as the glory of the pastures', i.e., as grass that quickly withers.
But the Hebrew word rendered 'pastures' (viz. karim), if derived from a different verbal root, can mean
'lambs', and this is how the ancient Jewish interpreters understood it. (The true meaning is in any case
obscure, and various emendations of the text have been suggested.)
13. The text is defective, and reads simply, '[ ] sheep'; I supply 'bellwethers' (Heb. ele) for the sense.
14. The traditional text reads, by a different vocalization of the same consonants, They shall vanish
like smoke, yea vanish'.
15. See Manual of Discipline, i.11-12.
16. The expression is borrowed from Ezek. 17.23.
17. Usually rendered 'delighteth', but the word is also used in the sense of 'be preoccupied', and it is
evident that the writer so understood it.
18. The expression usually rendered, Teacher of Righteousness'.
19. The word rendered 'congregation' came in Syriac to mean 'church'. It is extremely interesting to
find it associated here with the verb 'build', for this usage-foreign to the Old Testament—at once
recalls the New Testament's 'building the church'. Indeed, if one wishes to indulge fancy, one may
even suppose that the imperfectly preserved phrase actually spoke of 'building a church [congregation]
firmly on a rock', for the verb 'set firm', which is here employed, is actually used, in Ps. 40.3(2), of
'planting firmly on a rock'. In that case, we should have here a striking parallel to Jesus' famous words
to Peter (Mat. 16.18).
20. Cp. HabC., viii.8; ix.9; xi.4; xii.2, 8. An historical identification is at present premature.
21. The Hebrew word, mith'areh, is of uncertain meaning in this passage. Normally, the root '-r-h
means 'be naked', and our author may so have understood it, albeit in a figurative sense.
22. The traditional (Masoretic) text has, 'he passed by', but our author's reading agrees with that of the
Greek (Septuagint), Latin (Vulgate), and Syriac (Peshitta) Versions.
23. Cp. HabC., ii.2; v.11; 'Zadokite' Document, xx.15. An historical identification is at present
premature.
24. Restored ad sensum.
=======
Psalm 45
1. The identification of the Korahite choristers in the
Temple (cp. I Chron. 6.22) with the sons of the Korah who led the revolt against Moses in the wilder
ness (Num. 16) is in accord with standard rabbinie tradition. Moreover, because it is said in Num.
26.11 that the 'sons of Korah did not die' when the earth swallowed up the rebels, tradition asserted
that they repented their father's action and refused to make common cause with him when Moses
called on him to desist; see L. Ginzberg, The Legends of the Jews vi (1946), p. 104, nn. 389-90.
They are therefore exemplars of penitence. In pseudo-Philo's Biblical Antiquities (xvi.4) they are said
to have been seven in number, and it is in line with that tradition that our author regards them as
archetypes of seven varieties of penitents. As to their being styled lilies (a symbol of purity), cp.
Midrash Tehillim, in loc. (quoted also in Yalqut Shime'oni, §747): 'Whenever a man repents his
offenses, the Holy One, blessed be He, gives him an additional pet-name. Consider the case of the
sons of Korah. ... After they had repented, but not before, they were called lilies ... as in the title of
Psalm 45'. See further on this metaphor, I. Low, Die Flora der Juden (repr. 1967), ii.!72ff. This
fanciful interpretation is further supported by the fact that the Hebrew word for 'lilies', viz. shoshanim,
lends itself to a 'freak' identification with the similar shonim, 'those that change, i.e., repent'—which is
how the Greek (Septuagint) and Latin (Vulgate) Versions actually render it in our passage!
2. Our author's understanding of this clause accords more closely with the punctuation in the
traditional (Masoretic) text than does the usual version. The deeds of the speaker complement his
word (though the latter is here evidently taken to mean God's word). The king is, of course, identified
with God.
3. On inspiration by the Holy Spirit, cp. Targum, Isa. 40.13; TB Sanhedrin, 99b; Sifre, §176, etc.
Aristobulus, quoted by Eusebius, Praeparatio evangelica, viii.10, 4; W. Bacher, Die aelteste
Terminologie der juedischen Schriftauslegung (1899), i.!69ff.; ii.202-6.
4. Vulgo, 'the Teacher of Righteousness', but the author is evidently referring to any of the accredited
expositors such as are prescribed in Manual, vi.6; 'Zadokite' Document, vii.18. See Analytical Index,
B. 2 (u). Our author interprets the Hebrew word for 'writer, scribe', viz., sopher, in the later sense of
'scholar'.
5. Literally, 'utterance (response) of tongue'; cp. Prov. 16.1.
H. Everyman's Bible
=======
Introduction.
Of a different order are two paraphrases of portions of the Pentateuch, both only partially preserved.
§1. The first, discovered in 1947, is composed not in Hebrew, the sacred tongue, but in Aramaic, the
vernacular 'understanded of the people'. Neither a formal commentary on Scripture, nor a mere set of
sermon notes, it is a fanciful elaboration of narratives about the patriarchs related in the Book of
Genesis. It belongs to a genre of literature (modelled, no doubt, on such romantic embellishments of
Homeric and early Greek legends as are exemplified by the Argonautica of Apollonius of Rhodes and
the Heracleid of Rhianus of Crete) which seems to have developed and enjoyed popularity in Jewish
circles during the Hellenistic age (1) and which is best represented by the Book of Jubilees (alias The
Little Genesis)—with which our text in fact shares several legends—the apocryphal additions to
Daniel and Esther, the Biblical Antiquities falsely ascribed to Philo, and the compositions (preserved
only in quotations) of such writers as Artapanus and the poetaster Ezekiel. (2) Medieval examples of
the same genre are the Book of Jashar, the Chronicles of Josippon, the Samaritan Asatir (Legends) of
Moses, the Anglo-Saxon paraphrases of Genesis and Exodus attributed to Caedmon, and the English
poem Cleanness.
The work has come to be known as The Genesis Apocryphon, but that title is misleading. For modern
read-ers, the term apocryphon suggests a work which originally purported to be divinely inspired but
which, however popular it may have been, was not eventually accepted into the canon of Holy Writ.
There is no evidence, however, that the present composition ever claimed or enjoyed any more exalted
status than might have been accorded to the Targums (which no one would call apocrypha) or, in our
own day, to any popular volume of Bible stories.
§2. Not the least interesting feature of the work is that in its fanciful elaborations of the Scriptural
narrative it incorporates several motifs well attested elsewhere in world folklore.
(i) The birth of Noah is accompanied by a sudden blaze of light. This is likewise a feature of nativitystories associated with Abraham, (3) Moses, (4) Buddha, the Greek god Asklepios and the early
Roman king Servius Tullius, as well as with several Christian saints. (5) It is told also of the baptism
of Jesus, (6) and is in turn bound up with the ancient notions that (a) human children begotten by gods
or other supernatural beings reveal their parentage by having radiant faces, (7) and that (b) the 'genius'
of a hero, situated in his head, emits rays. (8)
(ii) Lamech seeks explanation of this phenomenon by appealing to his father Methuselah to repair to
his father, Enoch, which Methuselah does. Here we have but a Hebraic version of the familiar folktale
motif of 'Old, older, oldest', the theme of which is that a quest for information 'moves back by
progressive stages to the hoary Nestor who possesses the knowledge sought'. (9)
(iii) In order to reach Enoch, Methuselah travels to a land (or place) named Parvaim. This land or
place, the location of which is still unknown, is mentioned in II Chronicles 3.6 as that from which
Solomon obtained gold for coating the woodwork of the Temple. Now, since in Enoch 65.2 the
ancient patriarch is said to have been translated to 'the ends of the earth', it is apparent that Parvaim is
regarded by our author as a semi-mythical land in the far distance. (10) It is thus the equivalent of the
Earthly Paradise or Isles of the Blest, a characteristic of which in popular lore is their abundance of
gold. (11) A particularly arresting parallel is furnished in classical literature by the sands of the River
Pactolus, in Lydia, which are said similarly to have yielded the gold for the bricks presented by
Croesus to the shrine at Delphi, and which, even after that gold had in fact been exhausted, continued
to be spoken of in proverbial lore. (12)
(iv) Abram is forewarned of the danger which awaits him and Sarai at the hands of Pharaoh by
dreaming of a threatened cedar and palm, which symbolize their lives. Here, again, we have a familiar
motif of popular lore— namely, that the life (or soul) of a person is bound up with that of a tree. (13)
To cite but a few examples from classical sources: Domitian's death was thought to have been
presaged by the falling of a tree (Suetonius, Domit., 15), and that of Severus Alexander by the felling
of an ancient laurel and fig tree (Alex. Lampridius, Alex. Sev., 60.4—5). The grove of triumphal trees
planted by the Caesars finally died in Nero's last year (Suetonius, Galba, i; Tacitus, Ann., xiii.58).
Moreover, a story almost identical with that in our text is related in the Second Lay of Gudrun in the
Poetic Edda. In similar vein, it is (or was) a Jewish custom to plant a cedar at the birth of a boy and a
pine at that of a girl and later to fell them in order to build the nuptial canopy (huppah) at their
wedding (Bab. Talmud, Gittin, 57a; Pal. Talmud, Erubin, iv.27b). Goethe's father is said to have
planted a tree in his garden on the day the poet was born.
(v) The description of Sarai's beauty is couched in a series of cliches virtually identical with those
applied to the Virgin Mary in various apocryphal infancy gospels,
(vi) The 'plague' with which Pharaoh is afflicted—usu-ally identified in rabbinical legend as leprosy
(14)—here ap-pears to involve a sexual malfunction. This probably re-flects the widespread notion,
attested alike in accounts of witchcraft and in Graeco-Roman spells, that impotence and similar
disorders can be induced by sorcery. (15) More' over, the disorder is inflicted by a demon (spirit) , (16)
and is cured by the laying-on of hands, both of which ideas are, of course, staples of folklore
everywhere. (17)
(vii) Commanded by God, Abram ascends to the 'height of Hazor' and thence surveys the land
promised to his offspring. Although, to be sure, this derives substantially from the Scriptural narrative
(Gen. 13.14-16) and is paralleled by what Moses does from Mount Nebo (Deut. 33.49f.; 34.1-4), it
may perhaps be suggested that it is here inspired also by legal usage in the writer's own day, for, as
David Daube has acutely pointed out in discussing the Biblical passages, such pointing-out of
boundaries (fines demonstrate), accompanied by a promise of assignment, was a recognized method of
conveyance in Roman law. (18) (viii) Abram makes a tour of the Promised Land. Here we have the
common motif, attested alike in practise and in story, that circumambulation of territory is a method of
registering title to it. Parish bounds are periodically circuited, for instance, in British and German
calendar customs even at the present day, and this procedure was likewise a regular feature of
coronation ceremonies in Malaya and among several African peoples. (19)
§3. It is not yet possible to determine with certainty when our text was composed. Clues may perhaps
be found in: (a) the name H-r-q-n-s (Hyrcanus?) given to Pharaoh's counsellor; (20) (b) the use of such
Hellenistic and Roman geographical names as Gebalene [G-b-1] for the mountainous region south of
the Dead Sea; (21) 'Red Sea' for the Persian Gulf; (22) Coele-Syria [H-w-1-i-t-a, in the later sense of
the term], (23) and 'Mount of the Ox' for the Taurus range; (c) the divine titles, 'Lord of all Worlds',
'Lord of Heaven', (24) and 'the Holy and Great'; and (d) the employment of the word 'spr, if the latter
be correctly identified with the Latin spams, 'curved hunting-spear'. But I do not dare to speculate.
It should be added that the manuscript is in a sorry state. Both the beginning and end are missing,
whole columns have perished, and much has been obliterated. The following translation, however,
includes everything that is legible.
§4. The second of the Biblical paraphrases, now in the possession of the Government of Jordan, has
been called by its first editors, D. Barthelemy and J. T. Milik, The Speeches of Moses. Pieced together
with phenomenal skill out of some forty-nine tiny fragments, this is a paraphrase of Moses' farewell
address to Israel as recorded in the Book of Deuteronomy. The extant portion covers the exordium, the
law about the Year of Release (Deut. 15.Iff.), and the ritual of the Day of Atonement. The author hews
close to the Scriptural text, tricking it out from parallel passages in Leviticus. In one passage,
however, he spices the narrative with the legend (apparently unknown to rabbinic sources) that the
calendar date of the Day of Atonement coincides with that on which the Children of Israel ended their
wanderings in the wilderness.
In connection with this text it is not without interest that a Testament of Moses (the nature of which
has long been a matter of scholarly speculation) is indeed mentioned in the list of pseudepigraphic
books appended to the Chro-nography of Nicephorus, Patriarch of Constantinople in the early part of
the ninth century, as well as in the so-called Catalogue of the Sixty Books sometimes tacked on to
manuscripts of the Quaestiones of Anastasius of Sinai—a catalogue which may date from the sixth or
seventh century. Whether or not this is our present work there is at present no way of determining.
=======
Notes
1. Cf. R. Pfeiffer, History of New Testament Times (1949), p. 102.
2. Cf. W. N. Stearns, Fragments from Graeco-Jewish Writers (1908).
3. Cf. L. Ginzberg, The Legends of the Jews (1909fL), v.213; cf. also lb., 167, 245, 397.
4. Babylonian Talmud, Sotah 12a.
5. Cf. H. Gunter, Die christliche Legende des Abend-landes (1910), p. 89; P. Toldo, 'Leben und
Wunder der Heiligen im Mittelalter', in Studien zur vergl. Literaturgeschichte, 14 (1901), 320-45.
6. Protevangelium, xviii.2; Justin Martyr, Trypho, 88; Codex Sangermanensis = M. R. James, The
Apocryphal New Testament (1924), p. 33.
7. For stories involving this motif cf. A. B. Cook, Zeus, ii (1925), pp. 1003fi.; cf. also T. H. Gaster,
Thespis (2) (1961), p. 431.
8. Cf. L. Stephan!, 'Nimbus and Strahlenkranz', in Mem-oires de I'Academie des Sciences de St.
Petersbourg, VI Serie, Sc. pol. hist, philol., 9 (1859); R. B. Onians, The Origin of European Thought
About the Body, etc. (1951), pp. 165ff.
9. This is F.571.2 in Stith Thompson's standard Motif-Index of Folk Literature. Examples from
modern folk tales are cited in J. Bolte and G. Polivka, Anmer-kungen zu den Kinder-und
Hausmdrchen der Bruder Grimm, ii (repr. 1963), p. 400.
10. This inference would be further supported if (despite a slight grammatical anomaly) the words
immediately preceding mention of Parvaim be read, with several scholars, l'rk mt, implying that
Methuselah traversed the length of the land (earth). Another reading, however, is Iqdmt, 'eastwards',
which would tie in with the widespread notion that the Earthly Paradise lies where the sun rises; cf. T.
H. Gaster, Myth, Legend, and Custom in the Old Testament (1969), §13(a).
11. This is F.163.1.2; 3.1 in Stith Thompson's Index. See also T. H. Gaster, Myth, Legend, and
Custom in the Old Testament (1969), §15. A late Midrash says that angels set crowns made of 'gold of
Parvaim' on the heads of the righteous in Paradise: Massecheth Gan 'Eden, in J. D. Eisenstein, ed.,
Osar Midrashim (1915), i.84a.
12. See fully J. E. B. Mayor, Juvenalis Satirae (1872-78) ii.343 (on xiv.299).
13. Cf. I. Scheftelowitz, Altpaldstinensicher Bauernglaube (1925), 25ff.; H. Floss, Das Kind2 (1884),
i.71ff.; ex-tensive bibliography in Frazer-Gaster, The New Golden Bough (1959), p. 758.
14. Cf. Ginzberg, op. cit., ii.297, 355. The Samaritan ver-sion, in Asatir, vi.15, says that the princes
began to be plagued both privily and openly, and Pharaoh became like a stone, as though he had been
smitten by sorcery This reflects the motif of magical paralysis (Stith Thompson, D.2072).
15. Cf. G. L. Kittredge, Witchcraft in Old and New Eng-land (1929), pp. 113, 444, n. 78.
16. The demon appears (according to Fitzmyer's reading of the blurred text) to be called 'the spirit of sh-l-i-t', which word seemingly derives from a root s-h-l, known from Syriac and post-Biblical Hebrew,
meaning 'sup-purate, discharge', i.e., here 'gleet, gonorrhea'.
17. On the laying-on of hands, cf. J. A. MacCulloch, in The Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics,
vi.494; O Weinreich, Antike Heilungswunder (1910), p. 51; Frazer-Gaster, The New Golden Bough
(1956), §76 and Add. Note, p. 181; J. Behm, Die Handauflegung im Urchristentum (Diss. Leipzig,
1911).
18. D. Daube, Studies in Biblical Law (1967), p. 27, citing Justinian, Digest, xii.2.1.2; xii.2.18.2.
19. See fully T. H. Gaster, Thespis (2) (1961), pp. 193f.; id., Myth, Legend, and Custom in the Old
Testament (1969), §104.
20. See n. 24 to the translation.
21. To be sure, this designation occurs once in the Bible (Psalm 83.8), but it became popular in Graeco-
Roman times. The Palestinian Targum so renders 'Se'ir' in Deut. 33.2, and the Samaritan Targum in
Gen. 33.14, 16; 36.8, 9. This is the Gebalitis of Josephus, Ant., II, i, 2; iii.3, 7.
22. According to Pliny, H.N., vi.167, it was so named from the glow of the rising sun.
23. The name means properly 'sandy tract', and is in fact applied to several areas. Here it is most
probably Coele-Syria, in the later sense of the term, as in Josephus, Ant., xiv, 4, 5, 'Coele-Syria as far
as the River Euphrates'.
24. On these titles see A. Marmorstein, The Old Rabbinic Doctrine of God, i (1927), pp. 62f., 93f., 99;
R. Marcus, 'Divine Names and Attributes in Hellenistic Jewish Literature', in Proceedings of the
American Academy for Jewish Research, 1931-32, p. 83, s.v. Kosmas.
Memoirs Of The Patriarchs
A. Lamech
The Birth of Noah
Cp. Enoch 106.1-2 ii, 1-26
In the Bible, the story of Noah is preceded immediately by that of the dalliance of the 'sons of God'
with the daughters of men and the consequent peopling of the earth with a race of giants (Gen. 6.1-8).
This gave rise to the legend that when the hero of the Flood was born, the house was filled with a
sudden and wondrous light; whereupon his father Lamech suspected that the child was of supernatural
origin and sought to discover the truth from his grandfather Enoch who, in reward for his piety, had
been translated to heaven (or to the ends of the earth) and made privy to celestial lore (cp. Gen. 5.24).
The legend has hitherto been known to us only from the Ethiopic Book of Enoch (ch. 106), written in
the second or first century B.C., from a Latin fragment now in the British Museum, and from a partial
allusion in the medieval Samaritan Legends [Asatir] of Moses (ii.6).
A fragment discovered at Qumran describes, albeit obscurely, how Lamech saw 'in the chambers of
his house a light like the rays of the sun'. Our present text takes up the narrative from that point.
Suspecting then that the child had been conceived of one of the (Heavenly) Watchers (1) or Holy
Beings (2) and [that it really belonged] to the giants, (3) I, Lamech, was dis-turbed at heart. In my
confusion I went to my wife Bath-Enosh. (4)
'[I want you,' I said,] 'to take an oath by the Most High, the Lord Supreme, (*) the Sovereign of all
worlds, (5) [the Ruler of all] the heavenly beings, to the end that you will disclose everything to me in
truth. For if [you swear by the Most High, the Lord Supreme], the Sovereign of all worlds to speak
with me in truth and not with lies, this too will you have to disclose to me in truth and not with lies.'
----
(*) Heb. 'Lord of greatness'.
---At this my wife Bath-Enosh spoke to me with considerable vehemence and [heat].
'Sir cousin,' (6) said she, 'remember my delicate feelings. How[ever], the occasion is indeed alarming,
and my soul [is writhing] in its sheath. (7) I will tell you everything truly.'
[Hearing this, I grew] very [excited] and perturbed at heart. But when my wife Bath-Enosh saw from
my expression how perturbed I was, she repressed her indignation and proceeded to address me.
'Sir cousin,' said she, '[I will ignore] my delicate feelings, and swear to you by the Holy (and) Great
One, (8) the Sovereign of hea[ven and earth] that this seed came from you, this conception was by
you, and this fruit was planted by you and not by some stranger or by any of the Watchers or heavenly
beings. Why, then, this troubled and marred expression and this gloomy mood? I am telling you the
truth.'
Thereupon I, Lamech, rushed to my father Methuselah and [told] him the whole story, [begging him
go in turn] to his father and find out definitely what the whole matter portended, since he (i.e., his
father) was the favorite (of God) and [the gossip of the angels] to whom this role had been assigned
and to whom they communicated all things. (9)
***
When Methuselah heard [my words, he in turn rushed] to his father Enoch to learn the whole truth
from him and [to bespeak] his goodwill. He set out ... for Parvaim (10) and came upon him there.
'Sir and sire', said he to his father Enoch, '[Pray explain] to [me] what I am going to [tell you]. I would
ask you, however, not to be angry at my coming hither. ... The fact is that I have been alarmed by [ ]'.
.....
Cf. Gen. 6.1-3
Jubilees 4.15
Enoch 6.6 - iii, 3
[Then answered Enoch:] 'To be sure, in the days of my father Jared [heavenly beings did indeed come
down to earth and seduce mortal women].
***
Cf. Enoch 106.3 v, 3-4
'(Howbeit,) I, Enoch, [have words of reassurance for you. This child does not come from any of] the
heavenly beings but from [your] son, Lamech.
***
Enoch 106.18 v, 9-10
107.2
'(Moreover,) I have on this occasion [something else] to tell and disclose to you [ ]. Depart and inform
your son Lamech [that ]'.
***
Enoch 107.3 v, 24-27
When Methuselah heard [these words ... he rushed home] and spoke [ ] with his son Lamech. And
when I, Lamech, [learned that God] had caused [the child] to issue from me, [I was indeed reassured].
=======
B. Noah
The Character of Noah - vi, 2
***
... and all my days I behaved uprightly.
***
Gen. 6.9 - vi, 6
... I, Noah, was a [righteous] man, [the one blameless man in my generation].
***
God warns Noah of the Flood - vii, 1
"[The waters of the Flood will overwhelm] the earth and
all that is upon it, the seas [and all that is therein]."
***
God assures Noah of deliverance - vii, 7
.............., and I rejoiced at the words of the Lord of Heaven.
=======
The emergence from the Ark - x, 12-15
Gen. 8.4
Jubilees 5.28
The ark came to rest <on> one of the mountains of Ararat (i.e., Armenia).
Gen. 8.20
Jubilees 6.2
(Thereupon) I made expiation for the whole earth [ ].
Jubilees 6.3
I made smoke/burned incense on the altar. (11)
***
Noah's descendants are forbidden to eat blood xi, 17
Gen. 9.4
Jubilees 6.7, 13
"... You are to eat no blood
***
Noah's progeny xii, 10-11
Gen. 11.10
Jubilees 7.18
Arphachshad [was born] two years after the Flood. [ ].
Such, then, were all the sons of Shem in their entirety.
Gen. 10.6
[And the sons of Ham were Cush (Ethiopia) and Egypt and] Put (Somaliland?) and Canaan.
_______
[In Enoch 7.20-39 it is related that Noah commanded his sons to act uprightly and specifically to
observe the rule (subsequently elaborated in Lev. 19.23-25) not to taste any produce of the earth until
four years after planting. It is probable that something of the same kind filled the gap between the
preceding and following sections of our text.]
_______
Noah plants the first vine xii, 13-17
Gen. 9.20
Jubilees 7.1
I and all my sons then began to work the land; (12) and I planted [ ] a vineyard on Mount Lubar. (13)
After four years it yielded me wine [for my consumption].
Jubilees 7.2
On the first day of the fifth month I began to drink thereof. (14) (Thereupon) I summoned my sons and
grandsons and all their wives and daughters.
Jubilees 7.6
We gathered together and went [and gave thanks] to the Lord of Heaven, the Holy and Great, Who had
rescued us from destruction.
***
Noah parcels out the earth among his sons
and they in turn among theirs (16)
xvi, 11-12, 16
Jubilees 8.11-9.15
... all the land in the north, reaching as far as [ ].
Jubilees 8.23
The boundary on this side is the Great (i.e., Mediterranean) Sea.
Jubilees 8.25
... [reaching as far as] the River Tina (i.e., Don).
***
xvii, 8-11, 16
To ASHUR (i.e., Assyria) [fell the land which lies] westwards, reaching as far as [the River] Tigris.
To ARAM (i.e., Syria) fell the land which lies [ ] reaching as far as the crest (or, headwaters?) (16) of
[ . The boundary] on this side is the Taurus range (lit. the Mountain of the Ox). Thence this portion
turns westwards, reaching as far as [ ]. Over and above (these) three portions [there was assigned] to
ARPHACHSHAD [the land which lies ..... ...... reaching as far as .......].
Jubilees 9.7-8
To GOMER (i.e., the Cimmerians) he gave what lies in the northeast, reaching as far as the River Tina
(Don) and the point where it turns.
To MA[GO]G (i.e., Scythia?) [he gave ].
***
C. Abraham
Abraham builds an altar near Bethel
xix, 7-xxii, 32
Gen. 12.8
[I was on my way from Shechem heading toward the mountain east of Bethel. I eventually pitched tent
there, with Bethel on the west and 'Ai on the east] and I built an altar there [and called] there on [the
name of G]O[D]. And I said: Thou art for [me] the God [ever]las[ting] (or, [of the wo]rl[d])....'
***
Abram and Sarai in Egypt
Cp. Gen. 12.10-20
I had not yet reached the Holy Mountain (17) but I pursued my course and went on southwards [ ] till I
reached Hebron (which was built [around that time]). (18) There I stayed for [two] years. Then,
however, a famine swept the entire country. Hearing that there was produce in Egypt, I made my way
th[ither]—that is, to the land of Egypt [ ]. Eventually I reached the C-r-m-o-n, (19) one of the arms (†)
of the River (of Egypt) [ ]. I then crossed the seven arms of that river (20) [ ] and, leaving our own
land behind, entered the land of Egypt, which belonged to the children of Ham.
In the night when I entered Egypt I dreamed a dream. And behold, in my dream I saw a cedar and a
palm [ ]. (Suddenly,) some men came along, seeking to cut down the cedar and leave the palm to stand
by itself. Thereupon the palm restrained (them). 'Do not cut down the cedar', it said, 'for we are two of
a kind'. So the cedar was spared for the sake of the palm and was not [cut down]. (21)
Awaking at night from my sleep, I said to my wife Sarai: 'I have had a terrifying dream'.
Tell it me', said she, 'that I may know what it was'.
So I proceeded to tell it to her. That dream', [I added, 'was a portent. The men I saw in it are men] who
are seeking to kill me but spare you. Do me, then, this favor [When these men enquire of you, Who is
this fellow? Tell them simply:] "He is my kinsman". (22) In that way I shall live on account of you,
and my life will be spared for your sake. [Abduct you they may, but they will] not kill me'.
For the rest of the night [‡] Sarai kept weeping on account of my words [ ].
Then Sarai [and I journeyed on] towards Zoan, [but all the while I was] fearful for her (§) lest anyone
should set eyes on her [ ].
---[†] Heb. 'heads'.
[‡] Heb. simply, 'that night'.
[§] Heb. 'for her person'.
---Well, after those five years, three Egyptian dignitaries [indeed came under orders] of the Pharaoh of
Zoan [and confronted me] and my wife. And they kept bestowing [compliments upon her for her]
goodly [grace] and wisdom and [ ]. I entreated them (**) [to listen] to what I had to say. (††)
[explaining that it was] only [because we had been suffering] from the famine which [ that we had
come thither]. [Paying] no [attention, however,] they went to present themselves [to their master].
Eventually, [reaching the palace, they reported to him].
[Pharaoh regaled them] with much eating and drinking, [and when they were full with meat and] wine,
[they began to expatiate on the beauties of Sarai]. (‡)
'[How ,' they said]. 'How comely is the shape of her face, how [ ] and finespun are her tresses! How
beautiful her eyes! How delicate is her nose and the whole lustre of her countenance! How fair are her
breasts, and how comely withal is her complexion! How comely too are her arms, and how perfect her
hands! How [delightful] are her hands to behold, how lovely her palms, how long and slender all her
fingers! How comely are her feet! How well-rounded her thighs! No maiden or new-wed bride (§§) is
fairer than she! Her beauty is greater than all other women's, and she excels them all! What is more,
along with all this beauty she has great wisdom, and whatever she does turns out well. (23)
When the king heard the words of H-r-q-n-o-s (24) and of his two companions, all three of them
speaking with one accord, he fell violently in love with her, and sent forthwith to have her brought to
him. As soon as he set eyes on her, he was dumfounded at all her beauty and took her to wife; but me
he sought to kill. Sarai, however (hoping that it might go well with me on her account), told him that I
was (merely) her kinsman. So I, Abram, was spared for her sake and not killed. But throughout the
night I and my nephew Lot fell to bitter weeping because Sarai had been abducted from me by force.
---[**] Heb. 'I called out in their presence'.
[††] Heb. 'my words'.
[‡‡] This is simply a restoration ad sensum and is not intended to represent the actual words of the
original.
[§§] Heb. 'None of the maidens and none of the brides that enter the marriage bower'.
---That night I offered prayers and supplications and entreaties (25) and said in (my) anguish, as the tears
rolled down: 'Blessed art Thou, O God Most High, Lord of all worlds, for Thou art the Lord and Ruler
of all things and Thou art the Ruler of all the kings of the earth, executing judgment upon them. Now
do I complain before Thee concerning Pharaoh of Zoan, the king of Egypt, in that my wife has been
violently abducted from me. Wreak justice upon him in my behalf, and let me behold Thy hand wax
mighty against him and against all his household, and let him not be able this night to defile my wife
(that she be put away) from me. Let them come to know, O Lord, that Thou art the Lord of all the
kings of the earth!' And I wept in my perturbation.
That night God Most High indeed sent a noisome spirit —an evil demon (*)—to plague him and all
the men of his household, and it so plagued him and all the men of his household that he could not
come near her, far less know her, (26) although she stayed with him for two years.
---[*] Heb. 'spirit'.
---When the two years were over, however, the plagues and afflictions had so overpowered him and all
the men of his household that he sent and summoned all the [sages], sorcerers and physicians of Egypt
to see if they could cure him and the men of his household of the plague. But none of the physicians,
sorcerers or sages were able to effect a cure for him. Rather did the spirit plague them too, and they
fled.
Thereupon H-r-q-n-o-s came to me and begged me to go and pray for the king and to lay my hands
upon him so that he might recover, seeing that [I alone remained] in sound health. But Lot said to him:
'So long as his wife Sarai remains with the king, my uncle Abram will not be able to pray for him. Be
off then and tell the king to send the man's wife back to her husband. Then he will pray for him and he
will get well.'
No sooner had H-r-q-n-o-s heard Lot's words than off he went to the king.
'My lord king,' said he. 'All these plagues and afflictions have come on account of Sarai, the wife of
Abram. Let Sarai be but restored to her husband Abram, and this plague and pox (27) will go from
you'.
So (Pharaoh) summoned me and said to me: 'What have you done to me on account of Sarai? She told
me she was (merely) your kinswoman, but she is really your wife! I took her to wife while she was
really your wife! Yes, it is your wife who is with me! Depart and begone from the entire realm of
Egypt, but now pray for me and my household that this evil spirit be exorcized from us'.
Thereupon I prayed (for him) that [he might be he]aled, and I placed my hand upon his [head], and the
plague fell away from him, and the evil spirit was exorcized from him.
When he was recovered, the king arose and announced to me [ ] and swore an irrevocable] oath to me
that he had not [defiled her], and the king gave her silver and gold in abundance and much raiment of
fine linen and purple [ ] in her presence, (28) and to Hagar (29) also [ ], and he commissioned men to
escort me out [of the country].
***
Abram reaches Beth-el
Gen. 13.3 - xx, 33-xxi, 4
Jubilees 13.15
So I Abram departed with exceeding much cattle and silver and gold and went up out of [Egypt] with
my nephew [Lot]. Lot too received much cattle, and he took him a wife of the daughters of [ ].
Pitching camp now here now there, I eventually reached Beth-el, the place where I had originally built
the altar. I built one a second time and offered upon it burnt offerings and meal offering to God Most
High, and I called there on the name of the Lord of (all) worlds and offered praise to the name of God
and blessed God and gave thanks before God for all the possessions and prosperity which He had
bestowed upon me and for all the benevolence which He had shown towards me and for having
brought me back safely to that land.
=======
Lot parts from Abram
Gen. 13.7-11 - xxi, 5-7
Jubilees 13.17-18
The following day, Lot parted company with me on account of what happened in connection with our
grazing-grounds, (30) and went and settled in the Valley of the Jordan. Although (he took) all his
possessions with him, I added lavishly to them. He went on pasturing his flocks until eventually he
reached Sodom. In Sodom he bought himself a house and settled down, while I for my part settled in
the mount of Beth-el. Nevertheless I was grieved that my nephew Lot had parted company with me.
=======
The Promised Land
Gen. 13.14-16 - xxi, 8-22
Jubilees 13.20-21
One night God appeared to me in a vision.
'Go up', said He, 'to the height of Hazor, (31) which lies left of Beth-el (the place where you are now
settled), and lift your eyes and gaze eastward and westward and southward and northward (32) and
behold all this land which I am going to give to you and to your seed for ever'.
So on the morrow I duly went up to the height of Hazor and from that height I beheld the land, from
the River of Egypt as far as Lebanon and Senir, from the Great Sea as far as the Hauran, the whole
area of Gebal (33) as far as Kadesh, the whole of the Great Wilderness which lies east of the Hauran,
and the region of Senir as far as the Euphrates.
And God said to me: 'I am going to give this land to your seed that they may possess it for ever, and I
am going to multiply that seed of yours like the dust of the earth. Just as no man can count that dust,
so will your seed be countless. Up now, go, fare forth and see how long it is and how wide. Behold, I
am going to give it to you and to your seed after you for ever'. (34)
So I, Abram, set out to tour and survey the land. I began the tour at the River Gihon (35) and came to
the shore of the sea, beside which I travelled till I reached the Taurus range. (36) Then I turned from
the [shore] of that great lake, i.e. the Dead Sea, and departed, alongside Mount Taurus in an easterly
direction across the breadth of the land until I reached the River Euphrates. Then I journeyed beside
the Euphrates eastward until I reached the Persian Gulf (37) and I proceeded along the Persian Gulf
until I reached the tongue of the Sea of Reeds which issues out of it. I then pursued my course
southward until I reached the River Gihon. At that point I turned back and came safely to my family,
where I found everyone well.
Thereupon I departed and settled in the plains (38) of Mamre which lie close to Hebron, to the
northeast, and there I built an altar and offered upon it burnt offering and meal offering unto God Most
High. And I ate and drank there together with all the men of my household, and I sent and invited my
friends, the three Amorite brothers, Mamre, Aneram (39) and Eshcol, and they ate and drank together
with me.
=======
The rescue of Lot
Gen. 14.Iff. - xxi, 23-xxii, 26
Jubilees 13.22-29
Some time previously, Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, Amraphel, king of Babylon, (40) Arioch, long of
Cappadocia, (41) and Tid'al, king of Goyim (which is in Mesopotamia) came and waged war against
Bera', king of Sodom, Birsha', king of Gomorram, (42) Shinab, king of Admah, and Shem-'-b-d, (43)
king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela'. They assembled for combat in the vale of Siddim, and the king
of Elam and his royal allies overpowered the king of Sodom and his confederates, and he imposed
tribute upon them, For twelve years they paid their tribute to the king of Elam, but in the thirteenth
year they revolted against him. In the fourteenth, however, the king of Elam led forth all his allies and
they went up along the Way of the Wilderness (44) and proceeded to attack and plunder from the
River Euphrates inwards. They attacked the Rephaim who lived at Ashteroth-Qarnaim, the
Zamzummim who lived at Ammon, (45) the Emim who lived at Shaveh-haQeriyoth, and the Horites
who lived in the Gebalene hills, until finally they reached El-Paran which is by the wilderness. Then
they turned back [and came to and attacked the Amorites] at Hazezon-tamar.
But the king of Sodom, the king of [Gomorram, the ki]ng of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king
of Bela' went out to challenge them [and joined] battle in the vale of [Siddim] with Chedorlao[mer,
king of Elam and his royal] allies. However, the king of Sodom was beaten and fled, the king of
Gomorram fell into some pits [ ]. Thereupon the king of Elam seized all the property that was in
Sodom and Gomorram [ ], and they carried off with them also Abram's nephew Lot, who had settled
in Sodom, together with all his possessions.
But one of the shepherds (46) whom Abram had given to Lot and who had escaped from captivity
came to Abram, who was dwelling at the time in Hebron, and told him that his nephew Lot had been
captured together with all his possessions, but not killed, and that the kings had taken the route
through the Great Valley and were looting and plundering and attacking and killing, and that they
were headed for the province of Damascus. Thereupon Abram wept for his nephew Lot. Bracing
himself, however, he proceeded to pick out from among his servants some three hundred and eighteen
doughty stalwarts who might engage in combat and, with Aneram, Eshcol and Mamre marching
beside him, pursued after them until he reached Dan. He came upon them encamped in the valley of
Dan and, attacking them by night from all four directions, kept wreaking slaughter among them and
discomfiting them throughout the night, and subsequently chased after them. They all fled before him
until they reached Helbon (47) which is situated to the left of Damascus. Howbeit, he stripped them of
all that they had taken as plunder and loot and likewise of all their own goods, and he also rescued his
nephew Lot, restoring to him all his possessions and all that they had taken from him as spoil.
When the king of Sodom heard that Abram had restored all the spoil and loot, he went up to challenge
him, and came to Salem (that is, Jerusalem). (48) Now, Abram was encamped in the valley of Shaveh
(the same is the Valley of the King in the dale of Beth-cerem). (49) And Melchizedek, the king of
Salem, furnished food and drink for Abram and for all the men that were with him; and he was a priest
of God Most High. And he blessed Abram, and said: 'Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Lord of
heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High Who hath delivered thine enemies into thine hand'.
And he gave him a tenth part of all the possessions of the king of Elam and his allies.
Thereupon the king of Sodom approached and said to Abram: 'My lord Abram, give me the persons
who are (properly) mine but who are with you only as spoil, whom you have rescued from the king of
Elam, but let all the property be left with you'.
But Abram said to the king of Sodom: This day do I lift my hand (in oath) unto God Most High, Lord
of heaven and earth, that I will not take even so much as a thread or a shoestring which is yours, lest
you should say that all Abram's wealth comes really from my possessions. The only exception will be
what my youths who are with me have already eaten and what the three stalwarts who went with me
have received as their share. They must be left to control their own shares in the matter of surrendering
any of them to you'.
And therewith Abram returned all the possessions and all the spoil and gave them to the king of
Sodom. And he released all the captives and sent them all away.
=======
Abram is promised a son
Gen. 15.1-4 - xxii, 27-34
Jubilees 14.1-3
After these things God appeared to Abram in a vision and said to him: 'Behold, it is ten full years since
you went up from Haran. Two years have you passed here, and seven in Egypt, and one since you
came back from Egypt Now review and compute all that you have and see how it has increased to
double of what went out with you in the day that you left Haran. But now, fear not, I am with you and
I will be a help to you and a source of strength. I will also be a shield about you, and your spear (50)
against any that is stronger than you. Your wealth and possessions will increase exceedingly'.
'My Lord God', replied Abram, 'my wealth and possessions have indeed increased, but what good are
all these to me, seeing that I shall die childless and go without sons, and one of the boys of my
household will inherit me, even Eliezer of [Damascus ]?'
'Nay', replied God. 'None shall inherit you save one that issues [from your loins]'.
***
The Oration Of Moses - A Paraphrase Of The Law
=======
Moses' farewell exhortation
And [God called] unto Moses in the [fortieth] year of the going out of the [children] of Israel [from the
land of] Egypt, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, saying:
[Gather together] all the congregation, and go up unto [Mount Nebo] and stand there, thou and
Eleazar, [the son of] Aaron.
Interpret [the Law] [unto the heads of the families, unto the levites and all the [priests];
And enjoin upon the children of Israel the words of the Law which I commanded [thee] on Mount
Sinai to enjoin upon [them].
Explain carefully in their hearing all that [I exact] of them; [and call] heaven and [earth to witness]
concerning that which will befall them if they and their children [walk] not in the way which I have
commanded [them throughout their lives] on earth.
[For] I declare that if they renounce Me and choose [the filthy ways of] the heathen and their
abominations and their idols, and if they [worship] their godlings, these will prove but a trap and a
snare.
And if they neglect [any] of the holy [convocations], or the sabbath which is itself a Covenant, [or the
festivals] which I command them this day to observe, it shall redound to their being [smitten] with a
great [smiting] in the midst of that land [for the possession of which] they are about to cross the
Jordan.
For all the curses [of the Covenant] will come upon them and overtake them, to the end that they shall
perish and be [destroyed]. Then shall they know [that] the truth has been evinced among them.
So Moses called Eleazar the son of [Aaron] and Joshua [the son of Nun and said unto] them: Rehearse
[all the words of the Law] completely. ...
[Give ear,] O Israel, and hearken! This [day art thou to become a people] unto GOD (*) [your God].
---[*] A pious substitute for YHWH, the ineffable name.
---Thou shalt keep [My statutes] and Mine orders and My [commandments] which [I] command thee this
day [to perform].
When thou crossest the [Jordan] to [possess thee] of great and goodly [cities], of houses filled with all
[goodly things, of vineyards and olives] which thou didst not [plant], and of hewn wells which thou
didst not hew; and when thou eatest and art satisfied,
[Beware] lest thy heart become haughty and thou [forget] that which I [command] thee this day. For it
is [thy] life and the length of [thy] days.
Then Moses [summoned the children of] Israel and [said]:
This day it is forty [years] since we went out from the land of Egypt; and this [day] hath GOD our God
[caused] all these words—[all] His judgments and commandments —[to issue] from His mouth.
How can [I myself alone bear] your cumbrance and your [burden and your strife? When I am done
with imparting unto you] the Covenant and with enjoining the way in which ye are to walk, [take you
wise men who] shall serve to explain [unto you] and your [children] all the words of the Law.
Take heed exceedingly unto your souls [that ye do them, lest] the wrath of [your God] be fanned into
flame and blaze against you, and He shut up the heavens above that they rain no rain upon you, and
the [waters] below, that [the earth] yield no [produce] for you.
And Moses [went on to rehearse] unto the children of Israel all these commandments [which God] had
commanded them to do. ...
=======
Of the Year of Release
[At the end of every seven] years [thou shalt observe] a sabbatical rest [of the land. The produce of]
the earth [during that period of rest shall serve both thee and the domestic beasts and the wild animals]
of the field [for food]; and what is left shall be for the [needy] among thy brethren, who are [in the
land].
No man shall [then] sow [his field] or prune his [vineyard, neither shall anyone glean the aftermath of
the harvest, nor] gather fruits for himself.
[Thou shalt observe] all these [words] of the Covenant, [to perform them].
If thou [attend carefully] to the performance of [this commandment], and if thou [truly] 'relax thy
[hand]' in that year, it shall mean also that anyone who is [a creditor of another] and hath [a claim of
any kind] upon him [in respect of a loan] shall [likewise] 'relax [his hand'.] [It shall be called the
Release] ordained by GOD [your God.]
One may exact payment from an alien, but not from any of one's own brethren. For in that year God
will bless you, and He [too] will absolve you—of your iniquities.
=======
Of the Day of Atonement
[ ] on this day. ...
For your [fathers] were wanderers [in the wilderness] until the tenth day of the [seventh] month. ...
On the tenth [day] of the month, [all work] shall be forbidden; and on that tenth day, atonement shall
be made. ...
[ ] [day] of the month [ ] shall take [ ].
[ ] [On that day, judgment shall be passed] also upon the congregation of the angels and upon the
company of the Holy Beings. ...
[ ] [on behalf of the children of] Israel and on behalf of the land. He (†) shall [take of its blood] and
pour [it] upon the ground [ ]. And [atonement] shall be made for them. (The rest of the text is
fragmentary, It describes the ritual of the Day of Atonement.)
---[†] I.e., the high priest.
---=======
Notes
Memoirs of the Patriarchs
1. I.e., the fallen angels. The name derives from Dan. 4.13, 17, 23. Cp. 'Zadokite' Document, ii.18;
Enoch 1.51; 10.9; 12.2; 13.10, etc.
2. Cp. Zech. 14.5; Pss. 16.3; 89.8; Job 5.1; 15.15; Dan. 8.13; Enoch 1.9; 9.3; 12.2; 14.23; 39.5.
3. Heb. nephilim (cp. Gen. 6.4). The word was popularly derived from n-ph-l, 'fall' and taken to mean
'fallen angels'. Cp. Enoch 15.8: 'The giants ... from the holy Watchers is their origin'.
4. Lamech's wife is so called also in Jubilees 41.28 (Eth.). The name means 'daughter of Enosh'.
5. For this form of adjuration, cp. Enoch 98.6; 103.1. The title 'God Most High' was especially popular
in Hellenistic tunes; cp. Ecclus. 41.5; 47.5; II Mace. 3.31.
6. Literally, 'My lord and kinsman (brother)'.
7. I.e., 'I am all choked up, not in command of my faculties'. The expression derives from Dan. 7.15
(cp. also Talmud, Sanhedrin 108a) and harks back to the primitive notion that the body is the sheath or
envelope of the soul. A similar expression occurs in Pliny, H.N., vii, 52.
8. Throughout the Book of Enoch, God is regularly styled 'Holy and Great One', e.g., 1.3; 10.1; 14.1;
35.1.
9. Legend asserted that in reward for his piety Enoch had been made privy to heavenly secrets; cp.
Enoch 1.2; 27.4; 72.1; 81.1. In Jewish folklore he was some-tunes identified with the angel Metatron.
10. See above, Introduction, §2 (iii).
11. Fumigation is an element of atonement procedures; cf. Lev. 4.10, 19, etc.; 5.12; 7.5; 9.10; 16.25.
On the subject in general, cf. I. Scheftelowitz, Altpaldstin-ensicher Bauernglaube (1925), pp. 82fi.; M.
Haran, The Use of Incense in the Ancient Israelite Ritual', in Vetus Testamentum, 10 (1960), 113-29.
12. The traditional Jewish text of Gen. 9.20 runs simply, Then Noah the husbandman began and
planted a vineyard', but the Latin (Vulgate) and Syriac (Peshitta) Versions indeed read, 'began to work
the earth', as here.
13. Lubar is mentioned both in the Book of Jubilees and in later rabbinic legend as the mountain on
which the ark came to rest; cf. Ginzberg, The Legends of the Jews, v.l86, 188. The name remains
unexplained.
14. Noah piously observes the Law of Lev. 19.23-25 for-bidding the consumption of produce until
four years after planting! On the particular application of this to vines (kerem reba'i), cf. Mishnah
Pe'ah, vii.6: Terumoth, iii.9; Ma'aser Shem, v.1-3; Parah, i.l.
15. Identifications (successively modernized) of the ter-ritories allotted to the sons and grandsons of
Noah are to be found in Jubilees 8.11-9.15; the Biblical Antiql-uities mistakenly ascribed to Philo, 4.4;
the medieval Chronicles of Jerahmeel, ch. 31; and the Samaritan Asatir [Legends] of Moses, ii.24-31.
16. Literally, on the heads of (i.e., in addition to the main portions?). The translation is uncertain.
17. I.e., Bethel. The Samaritans identify the mountain with Gerizim; cf. Marqeh, 71b-72a (in M.
Heidenheim Bibliotheca Samaritana, iii [1896], 51); Ma'lef, §§97-98.
18. Cf. Jubilees 13.10.
19. Evidently the river K-r-m-o-n (or K-r-m-y-o-n) men-tioned in Mishnah, Parah, vii.9, and in
Babylonian Talmud, Baba Bathra, 74b.
20. I.e., the seven mouths of the Delta; cf. Herodotus ii.17; Pliny, HN, v.64. The Nile is often
described in classical Literature as 'seven-branched'; e.g., Moschus ii.51; Catullus, xi.7; Vergil,
Aeneid, vi.801; Ovid, Met., v.l87; xv.753.
21. See above, Introduction, §2 (iv).
22. The Hebrew word 'ah has a wider meaning than 'brother', as usually rendered. In urging Sarai to
use this more neutral term, Abram was resorting to the diplomatic stratagem of ambiguity, rather than
to downright deception.
23. Literally, 'what pertains to her hands'.
24. This name does not occur in parallel versions of the story, and is not yet satisfactorily explained. If
it is indeed to be identified as Hyrcanos, the name may have reference to John Hyrcanus (135-105
B.C.) and be used in a typological and derogatory sense, inspired by that sense of 'Pharisaic',
opposition to him which is reflected in Josephus, Ant., xii.10.5-6 and in the Talmud, i.e., 'a veritable
Hyrcanus'. This would then be an important clue to the dating of our text. In the corresponding
Samaritan tradition, the courtier is called T-r-t-s (Asatir, vi.18) or T-r-s-s (Meshalma,
fol.197f.)—evidently Hellenistic names.
25. The original employs the standard terms for the different types of prayer.
26. See above, Introduction, §2 (vi).
27. Literally, spirit (demon) of gleet, i.e., gonorrhea.
28. This evidently refers to a declaration of divorce made by Pharaoh in the presence of Sarai.
Rabbinic legend asserts that Pharaoh had given Sarai a formal marriage contract, cf. Ginzberg,
Legends, i, p. 223. A formal declaration of divorce would then have been required, by Jewish law,
before her husband could reclaim her. The Samaritan version (Asatir, vi.21) adds the picturesque
detail that the whole palace was lit up by the lustre on Sarai's face.
29. There was an old legend that Hagar was the daughter of Pharaoh and that he presented her to
Abram; cf. Ginzberg, Legends, v.221, n. 74.
30. Cf. Gen. 12.7ff.
31. This is the modern Jebel el-'Asur, reputedly the highest spot in central Palestine. On this episode,
see above, Introduction, §2 (vii).
32. The author seems to muddle the directions, for in the subsequent specifications he presents a
survey which proceeds northwards, westwards, and eastwards, agreeing more with the order in
Jubilees.
33. See above, Introduction, §3.
34. See above, Introduction, §2 (viii).
35. The Gihon, one of the four tributaries of the river of Eden (Gen. 2.15) was popularly identified
with the Nile; cf. Josephus, Ant., I.i.3.
36. I.e., more strictly, the Amanus section of the Taurus range.
37. Literally, the Red Sea, the Greek name for the Persian Gulf.
38. Heb. 'elone Mamre'. This is usually rendered 'the oaks of Mamre', but it may be suggested that the
author may have followed an ancient tradition (preserved in the Vulgate's rendering, convallis) which
interpreted the name from the like-sounding Greek aulon, 'valley'-a word which was indeed adopted
into Syriac. John Mandeville similarly speaks of 'the plain of Mamre'.
39. For this form, instead of the Biblical 'Aner, cp. Gomorram for Gomorrah. Curiously enough, the
Samaritan version (in the Asatir) has Arenam.
40. In the Bible, Amraphel is identified as 'king of Sh-n-'-r'. This is probably the Shanhar(a) mentioned
in the Amarna Letter, 35.49, Amraphel being a semi-Hurrianized name, Amurru-pal, and having
nothing whatsoever to do with the Babylonian Hammurabi, as was previously supposed. But Sh-n-'-r
was commonly equated in antiquity with Shine'ar, a name for Babylonia in Gen. 10.10; 11.2; Zech.
5.11, etc., and is so rendered in both the Palestinian and the Samaritan Targums.
41. In the Bible, Ellasar, still unidentified.
42. See above, n. 39.
43. The traditional Jewish text has ShemebeR. Our a-thor's reading agrees with the Samaritan
recension.
44. Literally, the sandy tract. See Introduction, §3.
45. The traditional Jewish text has, the Zuzim in Ham (variant: Ham), which some scholars would
identify with modern Ham, on the southwest shore of the Dead Sea. Comparison with Deut 2.20
suggests, however, that Zuzim (i.e., Z-v-z-i-m?) and Zamzumim are simply alternative representations
of the same name. It is this latter passage which justifies our author in locating them in 'Ammon.
46. The Bible identifies him only as 'a refugee'.
47. The Bible has Hobah—ihe Ube of cuneiform texts. For Helbon (modern Halbun), cf. Ezek. 27.18
and Strabo, 735; Athenaeus, i.22.
48. Actually, this may have been the modern Salim, near Shechem, as maintained by the Samaritans.
But the tradition that it was Jerusalem (called Shalem in Ps. 76.3) is attested also by Josephus (Ant.,
1.10.2) and by the Targums.
49. Cf. Jer. 6.1; Neh. 3.14; Mishnah, Middoth, iii.4; Nid-dah, ii.7. It is the modern 'Ain Karim, about
four and a half miles west of Jerusalem.
50. The text has the word 'spr, not found elsewhere. This has been identified with an Iranian word
(none too well authenticated, I am told), said to mean 'square shield, buckler', but—despite the
previous mention of a shield—the preposition against, rather than from, would seem to indicate a
weapon of offense rather than of defense. I would therefore tentatively suggest comparison with the
Latin spams (whence our own spear), 'a short, curved weapon like a hunting-spear or scimitar'.
6 - The Triumph Of God (Descriptions of the Final Age)
=======
There shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time; and
at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
(Daniel 12.1.)
Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand.
(Matthew 3.2.)
Cause us to rejoice, O Lord our God, in the coming of Thy servant Elijah the prophet, and in the
kingdom of the house of David, Thine anointed. Soon may he come and gladden our hearts!
Let there no stranger sit upon his throne, nor to his glory alien men fall heir, for Thou hast sworn unto
him by Thy holy name that his lamp shall never go out.
From The Jewish Sabbath Morning Service
=======
Introduction
~~ I ~~
From time immemorial, it has been the custom in many parts of the world to usher in the New Year or
a new season by staging a pantomimic combat in which the New defeats the Old, Fertility discomfits
Drought, Summer ousts Winter, or Life subdues Death. Traces of such primitive ritual survive to this
day in the European Mummers' Plays, which are acted out on crucial calendar dates (e.g. Midsummer)
and which portray the conflict of the seasons or the triumph of a valiant 'Saint George' over a grisly
dragon which threatens to engulf the earth.
In ancient Babylon, an essential element of the New Year ritual was the recital (possibly also the
enactment) of a time-honored myth relating the victory of Marduk, the patron god of the city, over
Tiamat, a draconic marplot who sought to overthrow the authority of the gods.
In Canaan, a similar story rehearsing the defeat of Yam, the god of the waters, and Mot, the god of
death, by Baal, lord of fertility, is preserved on clay tablets of the fourteenth century B.C. discovered,
since 1929, at Ras Shamra on the north coast of Syria; and it is probable that this was recited in
connection with the New Year festival, celebrated at the time when the drought broke and the early
rains began. Moreover, vestiges of a similar myth, in which Yahweh (Jehovah) is portrayed as having
conquered the draconic Leviathan in a primordial battle-royal, may also be detected in sundry poetic
passages of the Old Testament (Pss. 74.13-14; Job 9.13; 26.12-13).
What is deemed necessary to restore the world-order from year to year is deemed necessary a fortiori
in order to bring in the New Age which will succeed the present Era of Corruption. The seasonal battle
thus becomes projected into eschatology—that is, into the standard picture of the Last Things. In
Jewish folklore, as represented by numerous references in pseudepigraphic literature and in the
Talmud, the adversaries of God in this final conflict were identified not so much with demonic or
cosmic pow-ers as with the unrighteous elements among men—the heathen and the recalcitrant who
served the Prince of Darkness (Belial) and constituted his 'army'.
In accordance with a celebrated prophecy in the Book of Ezekiel (chaps. 38-39), these earthly
antagonists were in turn identified more especially with 'the children of Gog and Magog'—originally,
remote northern peoples from 'the back of the beyond', but now regarded, in a purely metaphorical
sense, as symbolic of all who denied the God of Israel and oppressed His chosen. Moreover, in line
with what the prophet Zechariah had foretold (14.3-5), it was held that the Lord Himself would come
with His heavenly legions and fight on behalf of His people.
The war against Gog and Magog formed the more militant complement to that process of inner
regeneration and repentance that was to secure the advent of God's Kingdom on earth. If Israel itself
might ensure its continuance and the restoration of its fortunes by a sincere return to the Law and the
Covenant, it was nevertheless essential that the wicked should be finally and irretrievably put to rout.
1. To men who believed that the Final Age was indeed at hand, preparations for this war were a matter
of imminent and urgent concern. They had to have a detailed Plan of Campaign. The War of the Sons
of Light and the Sons of Darkness (inscribed on one of the scrolls discovered by the bedouin boys in
1947) is such a plan—a kind of G.H.Q. manual for the guidance of the Brotherhood at 'Armageddon'.
Not the least interesting feature of this document is that it is far from being a mere fanciful lucubration,
something spun out of thin air. On the contrary, as General Yigael Yadin has pointed out, it very
largely conforms to standard Roman patterns of military organization, procedure and strategy. A few
examples (drawn from the present writer's independent observations) must here suffice:
(1) The troops are to be drawn up in three lines [viii, 6]; this is the Roman triplex acies (Sallust,
Jugurtha, 49). (2) The soldiers who initiate the attack are to hurl javelins seven times into the enemy
ranks [vi, 1]; this recalls the fact that the front-line velites of the Roman army were armed with seven
javelins (Livy, xxiv, 34). (3) The attack is to be launched to the accompaniment of a united war-cry
destined to strike terror in the heart of the foe [viii, 9-10]; the same practise obtained among the
Romans (Caesar, Bell. Civ., iii, 92; Livy, vii, 36; Sallust, Catiline, 60). (4) The high priest exhorted the
troops before they went into action, and addressed them as 'warriors' [xii, 10]; this is simply an
adaptation of the allocutio delivered by a Roman general.
He, too, was expected to call them milites; when Caesar once addressed them as Quirites, this aroused
indignation (Suetonius, Caes., 70; Dio, xlii, 53). (5) The 'trumpets of assembly' answer to the Roman
tuba concionis; (6) the inscriptions on the standards are in accordance with Roman usage (Veget., ii,
13), though cleverly adapted in accordance with the Biblical phrase, 'In the name of our God will we
set up our banners' (Ps. 20.6).
We cannot yet tell when this document was written. A clue to the date has been recognized by some
scholars in the fact that two of the prime enemies of Israel are identified as 'the Kittians of Assyria' and
'the Kittians of Egypt'. Since the Biblical term 'Kittians'—originally denoting the inhabitants of Kition
in Cyprus—was used in Hellenistic Jewish literature to denote the 'Macedonians' of the Alexandrian
Empire, it has been supposed that this refers to the Seleucids of Syria and the Ptolemies of Egypt,
which would mean—in the words of its original editor, the late Professor E. L. Sukenik—'that this
scroll was composed after the partition of Alexander's empire among the Diadochi'. This, however, is
not an absolutely necessary inference.
Assyria and Egypt were, after all, the classic foes of Israel, and their ultimate downfall bulks very
largely in Old Testament prophecies of the Final Age, while the term 'Kittians' came in time to lose
any precise signification and to be used—like 'Hun' or 'Tartar'—to denote 'barbarians' in general.
Hence, the reference to 'Kittians' of Assyria and Egypt may have been made, like that to Moabites,
Edomites, Ammonites, and Philistines [i.1-2], merely out of deference to tradition.
2. Of different structure but of the same purport is the text here entitled The Rout of Belial. Put
together out of thirty fragments (only fourteen of which, however, are sufficiently preserved to permit
of translation), this is a catena, or chain, of Scriptural passages which, on an eschatological
interpretation, can be taken to predict the ultimate discomfiture of the partisans of Belial (the 'sons of
darkness') who are currently harassing and assailing the 'sons of light'.
The author draws especially on verses of Psalms 11-17 and on the twentieth chapter of the Book of
Ezekiel. At certain points his interpretation depends not only on an over-all principle of eschatological
exegesis but also, more specifically, on reading secondary meanings into the Biblical texts by means of
ingenious but fanciful play on words. The picture of the final struggle seems to reflect in some
measure the influence of Iranian ideas which percolated into Jewish circles during the periods of
Persian and subsequent Graeco-Roman domination.
3. A pendant to these longer texts is the fragment which I have named The Coming Doom. This is best
understood as part of a sermon or discourse (Hebrew, derashah) based on a string of similes relating to
the Last Days.
~~ II ~~
Balancing the punishment of the unrighteous is the redemption of the faithful and the restoration of
Israel. It is, however, not merely by the defeat of His enemies that the Kingdom of God will be reestablished on earth. This will depend also on the repentance of his sinful people and its return to
observance of the Law and fulfilment of the obligations of the Covenant. The call to such change of
heart ('Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand') forms the subject of the exhortation here
entitled Weal and Woe. As in the Biblical prophets and in such later writings as the Book of Enoch,
the doom of the wicked and the triumph of the righteous are here described side by side.
~~ III ~~
1. The Golden Age which will follow these periods of visitation, trial, and testing is graphically
portrayed in the text which I have called The Last Jubilee. Preserved only in a single copy, this is best
regarded as a series of notes for a sermon, and was evidently compiled by one of those official
'expositors' mentioned expressly both in the Manual of Discipline and in the 'Zadokite' Document as
well as in Josephus' accounts of the Essenes. (1)
The purpose of the text is to depict the Golden Age as the fulfilment, in eschatological terms, of the
Law of the Jubilee, in the twenty-fifth chapter of the Book of Leviticus. In a manner familiar from
rabbinic literature, the expositor buttresses his interpretation by correlating crucial terms in the
commandment with other passages of Scripture, in which they are used in a different and wider sense;
and he enhances the cumulative effect of these comparisons by drawing alike on the Law, the
Prophets, and the Holy Writings.
The basis of his exegesis, however, is sometimes allusive rather than explicit, dependent on latent
suggestion and association, which was evidently intended to be spelled out in the oral discourse. For
the modern reader, therefore, the bare skeleton has, as it were, to be fleshed out, and this I have here
attempted to do by having the text set in small capitals and the necessary amplifications in roman type
and by explaining them in more detail in the accompanying notes.
It cannot be guaranteed, of course—particularly since the manuscript is damaged and incomplete—that
the resultant reconstruction of the sermon is one hundred percent certain, but a purely mechanical
rendering of what are, after all, mere mnemonic jottings would leave the text a virtual torso, and I have
been moved by a desire to help return the forgotten author to his patrimony.
A word should be added about the role played in our text by Melchizedek, the ancient 'king of Shalem
and priest of God Most High', who is said, in Gen. 14.18-20, to have conferred upon Abraham (and, by
implication, upon Abraham's descendants) the blessing of that deity. Melchizedek is introduced into
our sermon as the future savior-king who will bring peace and salvation to the faithful and condign
punishment to the wicked and who will also mediate divine forgiveness for the former on the Final
Day of Atonement.
The reason why he is chosen for this role is really very simple. First: the eschatological doctrines of
the Dead Sea Scriptures derive, in large measure, from Iranian lore which, during the period of Persian
domination, the Jews picked up on a popular level. (2) A major feature of that lore was the ultimate
triumph of Right (Asha) over Perversity (Druj). Accordingly, throughout the Scrolls, great stress is
placed on Righteousness (sedeq); the Brotherhood styles itself 'the sons [or, elect] of righteousness',
(3) and its opponents those 'of perversity' ('awel) (4)—corresponding to the Iranian ashovano and
dregvato—and its spiritual mentor, the man who expounds the Torah aright, is 'the teacher of
righteousness'. (5)
Now, since the name Melchizedek lends itself readily to the interpretation 'king of righteousness'
(melech sedeq), (6) and since—through a mistaken interpretation of Psalm 110.4 (Thou art a priest for
ever, after the order of Melchizedek)—he himself, rather than the priesthood which he served, was
popularly deemed to be eternal, he becomes at once an appropriate candidate for the role of the future
messianic king who will establish the dominion of righteousness on earth. (7) Moreover, this notion
could draw also on the widespread myth of the ancient hero redivivus, who would reappear eventually
to save his people (8)—a myth associated in sundry passages of the Old Testament with David. (9)
Second: Melchizedek's title 'king of Shalem' lends itself, with equal facility, to a fanciful association
with the Hebrew words, shalom, 'peace', (10) and shallem, 'requite', so that he can at once be identified
with the promised redeemer who will bring both peace to the faithful and requital to the wicked.
Third: Melchizedek combines the functions of king and priest, and therefore serves fittingly as a
prefiguration of the future Messiah who will not only re-establish the dominion of God over that of
Belial, but also mediate forgiveness for the faithful on the Final Day of Atonement, as did the high
priest on the annual holy day (cf. Lev. 16.30-33). (11)
It has been suggested that the title, melech shalem, 'king of Shalem', in Gen. 14.18, is an historicization
on the part of the Biblical writer (or his source) of an original mal'ach shalom, 'angel of peace', and
that the role assigned to Melchizedek in our sermon harks back to that earlier myth. (12) It has been
suggested also that he is here regarded as an hypostasis of God Himself. In regard to such theories,
however, we may perhaps be content, as was that ancient worthy himself, with but a tenth part.
Although, by virtue especially of his assumed immortality, Melchizedek did indeed become the subject
of divers legends in both Jewish and Christian lore, (13) it is not necessary to go beyond the simple
midrashic interpretation of Scripture summarized above in order to account for his messianic role in
our text. (14)
2. The text entitled The New Covenant is quite obviously part of a homiletic exposition of the famous
prophecy in Jer. 31.31-33: 'Behold, days are coming' saith the Lord, 'when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. ... I will put my Law in their inward parts, and in their
heart will I write it; and will be their God, and they will be My people.'
3. The war against Gog and Magog would mark the end of the present Era of Wickedness, but not the
end of the world. It would last forty years-the period of so-called 'Messianic travail', and would pave
the way for the 'Era of (Divine) Favor'. This too needed its blueprint, and a small portion of that
blueprint is preserved in what has generally been called The Two-Column Fragment.
This tantalizing document, found in the same cave as the main scrolls, is really a Manual of Discipline
for the future Restored Congregation of Israel. It has excited es-pecial interest because it describes the
protocol for a ban-quet attended by 'the Messiah'. This has led to the belief that it deals with the
Messianic Banquet (on the flesh Leviathan) often described in rabbinic literature, and also that it
prefigures, albeit in a limited degree, the Christian Eucharist.
The plain fact is, however, that the term 'Messiah'—or, more specifically, 'Messiah of Israel'—means
no more than 'the duly anointed king'. This text, as we have said, is concerned with the administration
of the future ideal community of Israel. After describing the rules that are to obtain regarding
education, eligibility for public office, and military service, the author takes up the question of rank
and precedence.
The high priest, he affirms, is to occupy the supreme position and to be superior to any layman. He
then gives a pertinent illustration. If, he says, the anointed king himself (expressly described as 'the
Messiah [anointed] of Israel', in implied contrast with the Messiah of Aaron', i.e., the high priest)
should attend a communal banquet, the high priest is nevertheless to be seated first, and it is to be the
high priest's duty and privilege to pronounce the Grace before Meals. Moreover, in order to make the
point even clearer, our author lays it down explicitly that this rule is to be observed even at smaller
gatherings, when there may be no more than ten persons present—the minimum religious quorum
[minyan] in traditional Jewish law!
The interpretation of this document as referring to a 'Lord's Supper' has been bolstered by a daring but
unfortunate conjecture, whereby a faint and damaged passage of the text is made to read: 'When God
begets the Messiah, he [i.e., the Messiah] is to enter with them'. It may therefore be pointed out that the
crucial word 'God' is here simply an arbitrary restoration, and that the word read as 'begets' (viz.
YW[LI]D) is more probably to be read 'is present' (viz. YW[']D), while that rendered 'he is to enter'
means properly 'he is to come' and belongs to the next sentence. What is actually said, therefore, is that
'if the anointed (king, i.e., [hmlk] hmsih) happens to be present (yw[']d) with them, the priest, as head
of the entire Congregation of Israel is (nevertheless) to come ... and take his seat (first)'. (15)
~ IV ~~
Lastly come four texts attesting the 'messianic' expectations of the men who wrote the Scrolls and of
the community at Qumran.
1. The first contains extracts (pitifully short, to be sure) from commentaries on relevant verses from
the Last Blessing of Jacob (Gen. 49) and from the promise of God to David in the Book of Samuel.
2. The second is a catena of five Scriptural passages attesting the advent of the Future Prophet and the
Anointed King and the final discomfiture of the impious. The first four are taken from the Pentateuch,
and include an excerpt from the oracles of Balaam. The fifth is an interpretation of a verse from the
Book of Joshua. An interesting feature of this document (not noticed by the original editor) is that
precisely the same passages of the Pentateuch are used by the Samaritans as the stock testimonial to
the coming of the Taheb, or future 'Restorer'. (16)
They evidently constituted a standard set of such quotations, of the type that scholars have long
supposed to have been in the hands of New Testament writers when they cited passages of the Hebrew
Bible supposedly confirmed by incidents in the life and career of Jesus. The interest of this text is
further enhanced by the comment on the passage from Joshua, for the curse which is there invoked
upon re-builders of the city of Jericho is applied to two contemporaries, evidently brothers, who have
been building a wall and towers in Jerusalem in order to rum it into a 'stronghold of wickedness' and
who have also been perpetrating disgraceful excesses in Israel and Judah.
Unfortunately, the identity of these impious men cannot yet be determined with certainty; one may
think, perhaps, of Aristobulus II and Hyrcanus II (as suggested by Allegro) or, alternatively, even of
Herod and Phasael. In any case, however, we have in this allusion a highly important piece of evidence
for the eventual definitive dating of the Scrolls.
3. The third, conventionally styled A Messianic Florl-legium, is an exposition, in similar vein, of God's
promise to Israel, in II Sam. 7.10-14, concerning the building of the Temple and the emergence of a
scion of David, coupled with a warning against false teachers, fancifully derive from the words of
Psalm 1.1, and a prediction of the at-tacks by heathen kings, deduced from Psalm 2.1-2.
4. The same theme is treated also, but in more discursive fashion, in the little piece which I have
entitled The Wondrous Child.
This text, composed in Aramaic, is something of a teaser. It has been put together out of no less than
twelve small fragments, which furnish the remains of two columns of writing. (17) Both the beginning
and the end are missing; few lines or phrases are completely preserved; one of the 'joins' is doubtful;
and several words are indistinct. The script seemingly indicates that the manuscript was penned at
some time between about 30 B.C. and the collapse of the Qumran commune in A.D. 68, but it may, of
course, have been copied from an older original.
All of this sounds, to be sure, pretty discouraging. Nevertheless the general drift of the text can still be
made out It is a prediction (one scholar has called it a horoscope) (18) of the birth of a Wondrous
Child, characterized as 'the chosen of God' and of events which will ensue thereafter. The child will
bear (like Krishna and Buddha) (19) special marks on his body, and will be distinguished by
precocious wisdom and intelligence. He will be able to probe the secrets of all living creatures, and no
schemes against him will succeed.
The problem is to identify this infant prodigy. According to the first editor of the text, (20) he is the
Messiah-a view based mainly on the fact that in certain passages of the Book of Enoch the future
savior and judge is indeed described as 'God's elect'. (21) To this, however, the objection has been
raised that the passages in question come from later additions to the original Book of Enoch,
apparently unknown to the men of Qumran since they do not appear among the portions of that book
which have been discovered there.
Moreover, it is urged, the title 'chosen of God' was not applied specifically to the Messiah—that is, to
the salvific scion of David or Aaron—before the New Testament, however much such a general figure
of myth may have existed previously. It has therefore been suggested that the Child is really Noah,
whose birth was indeed believed in legend (e.g., in the Qumran Memoirs of the Patriarchs) to have
been attended with miraculous signs, the references to impending general destruction and to 'waters'
(ii.14) then being to the Flood rather than to events in the Last Days. (22)
There is at present no way of settling the question, and it should be borne in mind in any case that the
myth of the Wondrous Child who will inaugurate a new age has a long history behind it, (23) so that
this may be simply a Jewish adaptation of what was at the time a more widespread popular belief. We
may recall, for instance, its Roman counterpart in the famous Fourth Eclogue of Vergil (virtually
contemporary with our manuscript), (24) as well as the so-called Priene Inscription containing a decree
promulgated in cities of Asia Minor in 9 B.C., which hails Augustus as the Savior who 'will end all
strife and restore the world-order', and which signalizes his birthday as 'the beginning of all things'.
(25)
=======
Notes
1. Manual, vi.6; 'Zadokite' Document, vi.7; vii.18; Florilegium, i.11; Josephus, Bellum Judaicum,
VHI.6.19; Ant., XIII.5.9.
2. See above, General Introduction, pp. 24ff.
3. Manual, i.20, 22; ix.14; Hymns iii.13.
4. Manual, iii.21. Cf. also: lb., iv.23, 24; v.2, 10; viii.13 ix.17; Hymns v.8. Cf. also: Hymns xi.22;
xv.15, 25, etc.
5. HabC, i.13; v.10; vii.4; viii.3, etc.; Ps. 37C ii.15; 'Zadokite' Document, i.11; vi.11; xx.32.
6. Cf. Heb. 7.2.
7. Righteousness is especially associated with the eschatological king in several passages of the Old
Testament e.g., Isa. 11.5; 16.5; Hos. 10.12; Pss. 96.1; 98.9; and with the Final Days in general, e.g.,
Isa. 51.5; 62.2 Jer. 33.16.
8. Standard examples are Arthur of Britain, Frederick Barbarossa; cf. Stith Thompson, Motif-Index of
Folk Literature, A 530; T. H. Gaster, Myth, Legend, and Custom in the Old Testament (1969), §205a. I
9. Jer. 34.23-24; Ezek. 37.24; Hos. 3.5. Cf. H. Schmidt, Der Mythos vom wiederkehrenden Konig im
Alten Testament (1925). Cf. also TJ. Ber. 5a.
10. Cf. Heb. 7.2.
11. For the combination of royal and priestly factors in the future Messiah (as in Christ), cf. 'Zadokite'
Docu-ment, xix.10f.; xx.l; xii.23; John 6.14-15.
12. J. T. Milik, in Journal of Jewish Studies 23 (1972) 137.
13. For a resume of these legends, cf. J. A. Fabricius Codex Pseudepigrapha Veteris Testamenti
(1722), 311ff.; M. R. James, The Lost Apocrypha of the Old Testament (1920), pp. 17ff.; L. Ginzberg,
Legends of the Jews (1909ff.), v.226; vi.325.
14. Nor is it really pertinent to adduce the reference to him in the Epistle to the Hebrews (chs. 5, 7) for
there he is cited in a somewhat different context, namely, to furnish a precedent justifying the claim
that Jesus is a spiritual high priest, superseding the levitical order, although not, in fact, a descendant
of Aaron.
15. Some of the scholars working directly on the scrolls claim that infra-red photographs definitely
establish the reading YWLID. I should like to see the photographs.
16. See J. A. Montgomery, The Samaritans (1907), pp. 247f.; M. Gaster, The Samaritans (1925), p. 92;
id., Samaritan Eschatology (1932), pp. 229f.
17. There is also a tiny scrap containing only five legible, but unintelligible letters.
18. J. Carmignac, 'Les horoscopes de Qumran', in Revue Biblique 18 (1965), 199-217. However, J. A.
Fitz-myer has pertinently observed (in Catholic Biblical Quarterly 27 [1965], 348-72) that the text
nowhere mentions stars or signs of the zodiac!
19. Krishna bore the sign of Srivatsa, and Buddha the well-known thirty-two marks.
20. J. Starcky, 'Un texte messianique de la grotte 4 de Qumran', in Memorial du cinquantenaire de
I'Ecole des langues orientales anciennes de I'lnstitut Catho-lique de Paris (1964), 51-66.
21. Cp. Enoch 45.3; 51.3, 5; 61.4, 8; 62.1.
22. J. A. Fitzmyer, op. cit. (reprinted in his Essays on the Semitic Background of the New Testament
[SBL, Sources for Biblical Study, 5] (1974), pp. 127-60). This is the most thoroughgoing treatment of
the text to date, though the author's suggestion that the Wondrous Child is Noah is open to debate, as
he himself frankly concedes.
23. See on this especially, E. Norden, Die Geburt des Kindes (1924).
24. See: R. S. Conway, Virgil's Messianic Eclogue (1907); J. Carcopino, Virgile et Ie mystere de la
Verne eclogue (1943).
25. See: F. H. Gaetringen, Inschriften von Priene (1906) No. 105; translated in F. C. Grant, Ancient
Roman Religion (1957), pp. 173-74; cp. also: A. Harnack Reden und Aufsatze (2) (1906), i.301; H.
Lietzmann Der Weltheiland (1909), pp. 14f.; O. S. Rankin, The Origins of the Festival of Hanukkah
(1930), p. 243 This concept has been invoked by many scholars to explain the Immanuel and related
prophecies in Isaiah chs. 7 and 9; cp. T. H. Gaster, Myth, Legend, and Custom in the Old Testament
(1969), §176.
The War Of The Sons Of Light And The Sons Of Darkness
=======
A (1) - [Prologue]
(i, 1-17)
.....
The first engagement of the Sons of Light against the Sons of Darkness-that is, against the army of
Belial—shall be an attack on the troop of Edom, Moab, the Ammonites and the Philistine area and
upon that of the Kittians of Assyria, and of those violators of the Covenant who give them aid. When
the Sons of Light who are now in exile return from the 'desert of the nations' to pitch camp in the
desert of Jerusalem, the children of Levi, Judah and Benjamin, who are now among those exiles, shall
wage war against these peoples—that is, against each and every one of their troops.
After that battle they shall advance upon the [king of] the Kittians of Egypt. In due time, he will sally
forth in high fury to wage war against the kings of the north, being minded in his anger to destroy his
enemies and cut down their power. (2) This, however, will be the time of salvation for the people of
God, the critical moment when those that have cast their lot with Him will come to dominion, whereas
those that have cast it with Belial shall be doomed to eternal extinction. [Great] havoc shall then beset
the descendants of Japheth: (3) Assyria shall fall, with none to help her, and the dominion of the
Kittians shall depart. Wickedness will thus be humbled and left without remnant, and no survivor shall
remain of the Sons of Darkness.
[Streaks of lightn]ing will flash from one end of the world to the other, growing ever brighter until the
era of darkness is brought utterly to an end. (4) Then, in the era of God, His exalted grandeur will give
light for [evermore,] (5) shedding on all the Sons of Light peace and blessing, gladness and length of
days.
On the day the Kittians fall, there shall be mighty combat and carnage in the presence of the God of
Israel, for that is the day which He appointed of old for the final battle against the Sons of Darkness.
Thereon the company of the divine and the congregation of the human shall engage side by side in
combat and carnage, the Sons of Light doing battle against the Sons of Darkness with a show of
godlike might, amid uproarious tumult, amid the war-cries of gods and men, in a veritable day of
havoc. It will be, indeed, a 'time of [ ] tribulation' (6) for 'the people redeemed of God', but, unlike all
their previous tribulations, this one will come to a speedy end in a redemption which shall last for ever.
When they engage the Kittians, [amid all the combat and car]nage of battle, the Sons of Light shall
have luck three times in discomfiting the forces of wickedness; but three times the host of Belial shall
brace themselves to turn back the tide. At this, the squadrons of the infantry shall become fainthearted, but the power of God shall strengthen their hearts, and on the seventh occasion the great hand
of God shall finally subdue [the army of Belial. For will He summon] all the angels of His dominion
and all the humans [that are bound to His communion] [ ] [and amid] the Holy Beings He Himself will
appear (*) to give aid [ ], [and He will make] the truth [to shine forth,] bringing doom upon the Sons of
Darkness [ ] [and] they shall surrender. ...
---(*) Restored after Zech. 14:3, 5: Then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations, as when
He fighteth in a day of battle ... And the Lord my God shall come, and all the Holy Ones with Him
(LXX text)'.
----
=======
[Of religious offices during wartime]
(ii, 1-6)
[ ] fathers of the community, fifty-two in number. (7) After the high priest and his deputy they shall
appoint an order of major priests, twelve in number, to serve constantly before God. Furthermore,
twenty-six major officials duly assigned to service shall serve in their appointed offices; (8) and after
them there shall be twelve major levites, one for each tribe, to serve constantly. The major officials
charged with service shall serve in rotation, but subordinate to them shall be the chiefs of the tribes and
the fathers of the community stationed constantly at the gates of the sanctuary.
The major officials assigned to service shall take up then-positions, in discharge of their duties, on the
festivals, new moons, sabbaths or weekdays duly assigned to them. They shall be fifty years of age and
upwards. (9) Their function shall be to attend to the burnt-offerings and the sacrifices, to set out the
incense of 'pleasant savor' for God's acceptance, to perform rites of atonement in behalf of all His
congregation, and constantly to clear away the fat ashes which lie before Him on the 'table of glory'.
=======
[Of recruitment]
(ii, 6-9)
All of these dispositions, however, are to apply only to the year of release. For the remaining thirtythree years of the War, (10) the dignitaries appointed to the Assembly and all the chiefs of families in
the community are to select the soldiers for service in the various foreign countries. They are to draft
them annually out of all the tribes of Israel in accordance with the established conventions of warfare.
(11) Only in the year of release is there to be no draft, for that is a year of sabbatical rest for Israel.
=======
[Of the sequence of campaigns]
(ii, 9-14)
Of the thirty-five working years, the first six are to be devoted to mobilization, the entire community
collectively taking part in it During the remaining twenty-nine years, the war is to be conducted in a
series of separate campaigns. In the first year, they are to fight in Mesopotamia; in the second, against
the Lydians; in the third, against the rest of the Syrians, against Uz, Hul, Togar and Masha, (12) which
are across the Euphrates; in the fourth and fifth, against Arpachshad; (13) in the sixth and seventh,
against all the Assyrians, Persians and Easterners as far as the Great Desert; in the eighth, against the
Elamites; in the ninth, against the descendants of Ishmael and Keturah. (14) For the next ten years the
campaign shall be concentrated against all the Hamites, (15) wherever they dwell; and for the
remaining decade against all the [ ] throughout their habitations.
***
Concerning the Battle Dispositions and the Trumpets of Assembly at the time when the gates of war
are opened for the infantry to go forth, and concerning the trumpets for signaling the first onslaught,
the ambush, the pursuit after the defeat of the enemy, and the recall
(iii, 1-11)
On the trumpets of assembly for the entire community, they shall write: The Enlisted of God. (16)
On the trumpets of assembly for officers, they shall write: The Princes of God.
On the trumpets of enrollment they shall write: The Rank of God.
On the trumpets of the dignitaries they shall write: The Heads of the Families of the Community.
When they assemble at the general meeting-house, the shall write: Enactments (17) of God for the
Sacred Council.
On the trumpets of the camps they shall write: The peace of God be in the camps of His saints.
On the trumpets of advance they shall write: The Power of God is able to scatter the enemy and to put
to flight all who hate righteousness. And he recompenses the loyalty [of them that love God, but
requites] (18)them that hate Him.
On the trumpets for marshalling the battle they shall write: The marshalled squadrons of God are able
to wreak His angry vengeance upon all the Sons of Darkness.
On the trumpets of assembly for the infantry, when the gates of war are opened for them to go out to
the enemy line, they shall write: A reminder (19) of the vengeance to be exacted in the Era of God.
On the trumpets of carnage (20) they shall write: The force of God's power in battle is able to fell all
the perfidious as slain men.
On the trumpets of ambush they shall write: The hidden powers (21) of God are able to destroy
wickedness.
On the trumpets of pursuit they shall write: God has smitten all the children of Darkness. He will not
turn back His anger until He has consumed them.
And when they return from the battle to rejoin the ranks they shall write on the trumpets of recall: God
hath taken back (gathered hi). (22)
And on the trumpets which signal the route of return from the war against the enemy and the way back
to the community in Jerusalem, they shall write: Joy of God at the return of peace. (†) (23)
---[†] Or, 'at a safe return'.
---This is the order
of the standards for the entire community
when they are enrolled
(iii.12-iv, 2)
On the great standard which precedes the entire army [lit. 'people'] they are to write People of God
together with the names Aaron and Israel and those of the twelve tribes of Israel according to their
pedigrees.
On the standard of the camp commanders of the three tribes (of Levi, Judah and Benjamin) they are to
write [ ].
On the standard of each separate tribe they are to write: Banner of God, together with the name of the
chieftain of the [ ], the name of the chieftain of the ten thou-sand and those of the [ ].
On the standard of Merari (24) they are to write: Offering unto God, (25) together with the names of
the chiefs of the Merarites and those of the commanders of its thousands.
On the standard of the thousand they are to write: God's anger is vented (26) in fury against Belial and
against all that cast their lot with him, that they have no remnant; together with the name of the
commander of the thousand and of its hundreds.
On the standard of the hundred they shall write: From God (27) comes the power of battle against all
sinful flesh, together with the names of the commander of the hundred and of its tens.
On the standard of fifty they shall write: Finished is the stand of the froward through the mighty acts of
God, (28) together with the names of the commanders of the fifty and of its tens.
And on the standard of ten they shall write: Paeans of God on the ten-stringed harp, together with the
names of the commander of the ten, and of the nine men under his command.
When they go out to battle, they shall write upon their several standards: Truth of God, Righteousness
of God, Glory of God, Justice of God, and thereafter the specific name of each division. And when
they draw near the bat-tie, they shall write upon their standards: Right Hand of God, Battle-Array of
God, Tumult of God, Slain of God, and thereafter their specific names. (29)
And when they come back from the battle, they shall write upon their standards: Grandeur of God,
Greatness of God, Praises of God, Glory of God, together with their specific names.
=======
Order Of The Standards Of The Community
When they go out to battle, they shall write on the first standard: Community of God; on the second,
Camps of God; on the third, Tribes of God; on the fourth, Families of God; on the fifth, Squadrons of
God; on the sixth, Assembly of God; on the seventh, Recruits of God; on the eighth, Armies of God;
and they shall write also the specific names, with all their ranks.
And when they draw near to the battle, they shall write upon their standards: War of God, Vengeance
of God, Feud of God, Requital of God; Strength of God; Recompense of God; Might of God;
Annihilation by God of all vain nations; together with all their specific names.
And when they return from the battle, they shall write on their standards: Salvation of God, Triumph
of God, Help of God, Support of God, Praise of God, Thanksgiving to God, Acclaim of God, Peace of
God.
(A fragmentary passage follows, giving the measurements of the standards.)
[ .] On the [standard?] of the leader of the entire community they are to write his name and the names
of Israel and Levi and Aaron, and the name of the twelve tribes of Israel according to their pedigrees,
and the names of the twelve commanders of those tribes.
Order of deploying the
battle-squadrons when their full
force is mustered
(iv.3-vi, 6)
To form a complete front. The line is to consist of a thousand men. Each front-line is to be seven deep,
one man standing behind the other. All of them are to hold shields of polished bronze, resembling
mirrors. These shields are to be bordered by a wreath-like rim wrought artistically by a skilled smith
out of [ ] (30) gold, silver, bronze, and precious stones, blended in a variegated arrangement as on a
woman's breastplate.
Each shield is to be two and one half cubits long and two and one half cubits wide. The men are to
hold in their hands a spear and a lance. The length of the spear is to be seven cubits, of which one halfcubit is to consist of the blade and the point (There follows a highly technical description of the spears.
Since, however, we do not yet know the precise meaning of many of the terms employed, it is
impossible to translate the passage with confidence.)
***
[ ] seven times and then return to their positions. After them three squadrons of the infantry shall go
forth and take up positions between the lines. The first squadron shall fling seven war-darts into the
enemy line. On the blade of each dart they shall write: The flash of the spear (31) evinces the Power of
God. And on the second javelin they shall write: Spurtings (32) of blood, causing men to fall slain
through the anger of God. And on the third dart they shall write: Flame of the sword devouring the evildoing slain by the judgment of God. They shall hurl such darts seven times in all, and then return to
their positions.
After them shall go forth the two other squadrons of the infantry and take up positions between the two
lines. The one shall hold spear and shield and the other spear and lance, to fell the slain in the
judgment of God and to subdue the enemy line by the might of God, to the end that every vain nation
may reap the fruit of its evil. Then shall the sovereignty belong to the God of Israel, and He will evince
His power among the sacred hosts (33) of His people.
=======
[Of The Cavalry]
(vi, 7-17)
The seven battle lines shall be flanked in turn, on the left and on the right, by cavalry. Each line shall
be accompanied by two hundred light horsemen, so that there will be in all seven hundred of the latter
on the one side and seven hundred on the other.
These horsemen shall occupy a similar position in the camp, though in that case they shall be disposed
on all (four) sides.
There shall be four thousand and six hundred of them, all told. In addition, there shall be fourteen
hundred heavy horse accompanying the general ranks—fifty for each line of troops. (34) The light and
heavy horse that accompany the troops shall therefore amount in all to six thousand.
All the cavalry that go out to battle with the infantry shall consist of stallions swift of foot, non-biters,
(35) long in the wind, full-grown and mature, trained for battle and used to hearing all kinds of sounds
and facing all kinds of sights. Their riders shall be stout-hearted warriors, trained in horsemanship; and
their ages shall range between thirty and forty-five. (36) Those, however, who are assigned to line duty
shall be from forty to fifty years old. They shall [be equipped with] [ ] and helmets and greaves, and
shall hold in their hands round shields and spears [ ], long [ ] and a bow and arrows and war-darts. And
all of them shall be primed in [ ]. [It shall be their duty to] [ ] and to shed the blood of those who are
destined to be slain in consequence of their guilt.
***
=======
[Of Age And Health Requirements]
(vii, 1-7)
The line troops are to be forty to fifty years of age. (37) Those who arrange the camps are to be from
fifty to sixty. (38) The officers too are to be from forty to fifty years of age; and all who strip the dead
and collect the spoil and clean up the terrain and keep the weapons and prepare the food are to be
between twenty-five and thirty. No toddling child or woman is to enter their camps from the moment
they leave Jerusalem to go to war until they return; neither is anyone that is lame or blind or halt, or
that has a long-standing blemish in his flesh or that is afflicted with any manner of bodily contagion, to
go with them to war.
All of them are to be men willing to face the hazards of battle, unimpaired in spirit and flesh and ready
for the day of vengeance. Moreover, any man who is not yet cleansed from a bodily discharge on the
day of battle is not to go down with them; for holy angels march with their hosts.
A distance of about two thousand cubits is to be set in every case between the camp and the latrine,
and no un-cleanliness is ever to be in evidence in the precincts of the camp.
=======
[Of The Battle Signals]
(vii, 8-ix, 9)
When the lines of battle are drawn up to face the foe, line in front of line, then out of the center gap in
the ranks (39) there shall come into the lines seven priests of the descendants of Aaron, clothed in
robes of white silk, wearing the linen tunic and the linen breeches, gut with the linen girdle of silk
twined artistically with blue and purple and deep scarlet thread, after the model of broidery, and with
mitred turbans on their heads—garments of war which they are not to bring into the sanctuary.
The one priest shall walk about before all the troops of the line to encourage them in the battle, while
in the hands of the other six shall be the trumpets for calling to arms, and the trum-pets for sounding
the charge, and the trumpets for recall And when these priests go out between the lines, seven levites
shall go out with them, and in their hands shall be seven trumpets made out of rams' horns. And three
officers selected from the levites shall walk ahead of these priests and levites.
And the priests shall sound a blast on the two [or: two of the] trumpets used for call[ing to arms]. [ ]
fifty shield-men,40 and fifty infantrymen shall go out from the one gap, [and fifty from the other,] and
the levitical officers [shall go out with them.] And they shall go out with every line in this manner. [ ].
The men of the infantry shall go out from the gaps and [take up position between the two [lines.]
***
The trumpets shall keep sounding for the slingers until they have hurled a full seven times. Then the
priests shall blow the recall for them, and they shall return (lit. come) to the first line to take their stand
in their assigned position. Thereupon the priests shall sound a blast on the trumpets of assembly, and
the squadron of infantry shall go forth from the gaps and take up position between the lines, and on
their flanks shall be horsemen to the right and to the left.
The priests shall then sound upon the trumpets a quavering (?) blast for the drawing up of the line of
the battle. The columns shall disperse to their several ranks, each to his assigned position. And when
they have taken up position in three lines, the priests shall sound a second blast—a low, subdued note
for advance to the enemy line. Thereupon they are to grasp their weapons. Then the priests are to
sound blasts on the six trumpets used for rousing to the slaughter—a sharp insistent note for directing
the battle. And the levites and all the people with rams' horns are to sound a single blast—a great warlike trump to melt the heart of the enemy.
At the sound of that blast, the war-darts are to issue forth to fell the slain. Then they are to accelerate
the notes of the rams' horns, and the priests are to blow upon the trumpets a sharp, insistent sound to
direct the wings of the battle, until they have hurled their darts into the enemy line seven tunes.
Thereupon the priests are to sound upon the trumpets the signal of recall—a low, quavering (?)
subdued note.
In such fashion are the priests to blow the signals for the three squadrons. And when the first squadron
begins to hurl its darts, the [priests] are to blow [ ] [on the trump]et a great blast to direct the bat[tle] [
]; the priests are to sound a blast for them on the trumpets [ ] their assigned positions in the ranks [ ],
and [ ] shall take up position.
***
[ ] they shall engage in felling the slain. And all the people shall silence their war-cries, while the
priests Keep blowing the trumpets for carnage, to direct the battle, until the enemy are discomfited and
turn tail. The priests shall go on blowing to direct the battle, and when the enemy are being
discomfited before them, the priests shall sound on the trumpets of assembly, and all the infantry
troops stationed between the front lines shall go out to them, and six squadrons shall take up positions.
The force of the total squadrons then entering the combat shall consist of seven lines comprising in all
twenty-eight thousand troops, and the cavalry shall number six thousand. All of these shall pursue the
enemy to annihilate him in the bat-tie of God unto his eternal extinction. And the priests shall blow for
them on the trumpets of pursuit, and they shall fall upon the enemy to pursue him unto destruction.
And the horsemen shall keep chasing them back into the thick of the battle until utter destruction is
achieved.
And while the enemy are falling slain, the priests shall go sounding the signals from a distance; they
shall not go into the midst of the slain lest they be defiled by their impure blood; for the priests are
holy and they are not to defile the oil of then: priestly anointment with the blood of vain heathen.
Order Of Disposing The Troops In Various Battle-Formations.- (42)
(a) in a straight line (43) flanked by so-called '(human) towers', (44)
(b) in a curved line resembling the lower half of a circle, (45) similarly protected;
(c) in a curved line resembling the upper half of a circle, (46) similarly protected;
(d) in a slight curve with center foremost, protected by spearhead columns advancing from the flanks;
(47)
(e) in a slight curve with ends foremost, protected by wings (of cavalry) (48) advancing on both flanks,
in order to strike terror in the enemy.
(ix, 10-15)
(In all such cases,) the shields of the men constituting the '(human) towers' are to be three cubits long,
and their spears eight cubits. The 'tower' is to consist of two side lines each made up of a hundred men
carrying shields, and of a front line similarly composed. It is to be a three-sided affair, and thus to
comprise three hundred shields in all. It is to have two gaps, one on the [right and] one on the left. All
of the shields of the 'towers' are to bear inscriptions. Those of the first 'tower' are to carry the legend,
MICHAEL; [those of the second, GABRIEL; those of the third,] SARIEL; and those of the fourth,
RAPHAEL (49)...
***
=======
[Of The Exhortation Of The Troops]
(x, 1-xii, 18)
[ ] our (50) camp, and to guard ourselves from all unclean things, and Thou art He who told us
aforetime that Thou wouldst be in our midst, a great and awful God, to make spoil of our enemies
before us. Thou also art He who taught us from of old for all our generations saying: When ye draw
near unto the battle, the priest is to stand and speak to the people saying: 'Hear, O Israel, ye are
drawing near this day unto battle against your enemies.
Fear not, neither let your hearts grow soft, neither be dismayed nor affrighted before them, for your
God is marching with you to do battle for you against your foemen to the end that He may save you'.
(51)
Then shall the officers thus address all that are ready for the battle, stout-hearted men, to encourage
[them] with the power of God and to restore all whose hearts melt and to encourage altogether all the
soldiers of the army: 'To this didst Thou refer when Thou spakest through Moses saying: "When thou
goest to war in your land against a foeman that assails you, sound ye the trumpets [Num. 10.9].
Then shall ye be called to remembrance before your God and ye shall be saved from your enemies."
Who is like Thee, O God of Israel, in heaven or on earth, that can do the like of Thy great deeds and of
Thy mighty power? And who is like Thy people Israel whom Thou didst choose for Thyself out of all
the nations of the lands, a people of men hallowed by the covenant and schooled in the Law, men
enlightened with understanding], men who [ ], who heard the glorious voice and saw the holy angels,
men whose ears are opened and who hear deep things. [Thou art He who ordained] the outspreading of
the heavens; the host of the luminaries; the several duties of spirits and the spheres of dominion of
holy beings; the treasuries of ha[il and snow; and the balance of] the clouds.
Thou art He who created the earth and the rules whereby parts thereof are assigned to desert and
wasteland likewise all that issues from it and all the fruits of it [yield]; the bounds of the seas also and
the reservoirs of the rivers; the cleavage of the deeps; all manner of beasts and fowl; the fabric of man
and his offspring; the confu-sion of tongues and division of peoples; the settlements of [all] the
families [of men], and the apportionment of the earth as inheritances [among them].
'[Thou art He who decreed the day of sabbath rest and the holy festivals, and the turning-points of the
years (52) and [all] the appointed seasons. [ ].
'These things have we come to know through Thine understanding which [Thou hast planted within
us].
'[Thou hast bent] Thine [ear] to our cry; for [ ]
***
'[To none] but Thee belong the [issues of] war, and it is by the strength of Thy hand that their corpses
have been flung forth, with none to bury them.
'Goliath the Gittite, a man of mighty strength, didst Thou deliver into the hand of thy servant David,
because David trusted in Thy great name and not in sword or spear. (53) For Thine is the battle. The
Philistines also didst Thou humble time after time by Thy holy name; and Thou didst also deliver us
many times through the hands of our kings by virtue of Thy mercies and not of our deeds which we
did evilly commit, nor of our acts of transgression.
'Thine is the battle; from Thee comes the power; and it is not ours. It is not our strength nor the might
of our hands that achieveth this valor, but it cometh through Thy strength and through Thy great
valorous might. So didst Thou tell us of old, saying: "There shall step a star out of Jacob; there shall
rise a rod out of Israel, and it shall smite the brow of Moab and undermine all the children of pride.
And it shall proceed from Jacob and destroy every remnant from the city; and the enemy shall be
dispossessed, but Israel shall triumph" [Num. 24.17-19].
Moreover, by the hands of Thine anointed, the men who had vision of things foreordained, Thou hast
related unto us the warlike triumphs of Thy hand—how Thou hast waged battle against our foes and
caused the troops of Belial—the seven vain nations (54)—to fall into the hands of the pauper folk
whom Thou didst redeem by wondrous might [and set] in [safe]ty and peace.
'Now is the heart that was melting turned to a Wellspring of hope. Thou hast done unto these as Thou
didst unto Pharaoh and the captains of his chariots at the Red Sea. The base (55) of spirit wilt Thou
burn up like a flaming brand in a hayrick, a brand that devours wickedness and that will not turn back
until guilt is destroyed.
'Of old didst Thou tell us of the time when Thy mighty hand would prevail against the Kittians, in that
Thou didst declare: "Assyria shall fall by the sword of no human, and the sword of no man shall
devour him".
'Into the hands of the needy hast Thou delivered the foemen in all lands, and into the hands of them
that were bowed to the dust. So hast Thou humbled the mighty of the peoples; brought their deserts
upon the wicked; vindicated among all men the truthfulness of Thy judgments; won for Thyself eternal
fame among the people [whom Thou hast redeemed; revealed to those whom Thou hast worsted that
Thou art indeed the Lord] of Battles; (56) shown forth Thy great and holy Being (57) in the sight of
the rest of the nations, that [ ] may know [ ], when Thou wreakest judgment upon Gog (58) and upon
all his throng and takest vengeance upon [ ], that Thou wilt wage battle against them from heaven [ ]'.
***
'For [with Thee] in heaven are a multitude of holy beings, (59) and armies of angels are in Thy holy
abode, to [serve as] Thy [legionaries]; (60) and down on earth Thou hast [likewise] placed at Thy
service the elect of an holy people. (61) The roster of all their host is with Thee in Thy holy habitation,
and the [ ] in Thy glorious abode. And the benefits (62) of Thy blessings and Thy covenant of peace
hast thou inscribed for them in a charter (63) of [Eternal] Life—an assurance that through all the
epochs of time Thou wilt be their king, and that when Thou contendest in judgment Thou wilt muster
an army of (these) Thine elect, in their thousands and tens of thousands, side by side with Thine holy
beings and Thine angels, and that they shall prevail in battle and, along with the heavenly elect [be
triumphant.]
'O God, Thou, resplendent in Thy sovran glory, and the congregation of Thy holy beings are indeed in
our midst as a perpetual help. We have [poured] contempt upon kings, scorn and contumely upon
mighty men. For the Lord [Adonai] is holy, and the King of Glory is with us, along with the holy
beings. (64) Warrior angels are in our muster, and He that is Mighty in War (65) is in our throng. The
army of His spirits marches beside us. Our horsemen come like clouds or like banks of dew, to cover
the earth, or like torrential showers, to rain judgment on all that grows in it.'
'Arise, O warrior! (66)
Take thy captives, thou man of glory;
and reap thy spoil, (67) O valiant! (68)
Set thy hand upon the neck of thy foemen, (69)
and thy foot upon mounds of the slain. (70)
Smite the nations that assail thee, (71)
and let thy sword devour guilty flesh. (72)
Fill thy land with glory
and thine inheritance with blessing. (73)
Be a multitude of possessions (74) in thy fields,
silver and gold and precious stones in thy palaces.
Zion, rejoice exceedingly, (75)
and shine forth, O Jerusalem, with songs of joy,
and let all the cities of Judah exult! (76)
Let thy gates be continually open,
that the wealth of the nations may be brought unto thee; (77)
and let their kings minister unto thee,
and all that oppressed thee make obeisance to thee,
and lick the dust of thy feet! (78)
O daughter of my people,
ring out your songs of joy! (79)
Put on your finery, (80)
step forth [ ]
[ ] Israel, to rule for evermore!
[ ] the warriors, O Jerusalem!
Be exalted, O Lord, above the heavens!' (81)
***
=======
[Of The Priestly Benediction]
(xiii, 1-xiv, 1)
And his brethren the priests and the levites and all the elders of the ranks that are with him, standing
each in his assigned position, shall bless the God of Israel and all His unerring works, and shall curse
the name of Belial and all the spirits associated with him. And they shall take up word and say:
'Blessed be the God of Israel for all His holy plan and for His unerring works; and blessed be all that
serve Him in righteousness and acknowledge Him in faithfulness. But cursed be Belial for his
invidious schemes, and damned be he for his guilty dominion; and cursed be all the spirits of his ilk for
their wicked designs, and damned be they for all their filthy acts and unclean. For they are of the
portion of darkness, while the portion of God is everlasting light.
'And now, O God of our fathers, we will bless Thy name for ever. For we are the people [of Thine
inheritance.] With our fathers didst Thou make a covenant, and Thou hast confirmed it with their seed
throughout the epochs of time. In all the evidences of Thy glory among us there hath always been the
memory of Thy covenant. Therefore hast Thou granted help to the remnant and ever renewed that
covenant, and therefore hast Thou ever vouchsafed unto us Thy deeds of truth and Thy wondrous acts
of justice.
Thou hast made us unto Thee an eternal people, and hast cast our lot in the portion of light, that we
may evince Thy truth; and from of old hast Thou charged the Angel of Light (82) to help us. In his
hand are all works of right-eousness, and all spirits of truth are under his sway. But for corruption thou
hast made Belial, an angel of hostility. All his dominion is in darkness, and his purpose is to bring
about wickedness and guilt.
All the spirits that are associ-ated with him are but angels of destruction. They follow only the laws of
darkness, and all their craving is directed toward it. But we—we are in the portion of Thy truth. (83)
We will rejoice in the might of Thy hand and be glad in; Thy salvation and exult in the strength of
[Thy right hand and in the gift] of Thy peace.
'Who is like Thee in strength, O God of Israel? Thy right hand is with the needy.
'And what angel or [prince of heaven] can give such help as Thou givest with Thy redemption?
'Of old hast Thou set for Thyself a day of warfare against wic[kedness], to triumph in truth and to
destroy guilt; to bring darkness low and raise light on high; (84) [ ] [to ensure that the Sons of Light]
stand for ever, and to destroy all the Sons of Darkness; to bring joy to [all ]. Hast Thou not appointed
us for [that time?].'
***
'[ ] as when the fire of His fury was kindled against the idols of Egypt'.
=======
[Of The Hymn Of Victory]
(xiv, 2-17)
When they come up from gathering in the fallen and return to the camps, they shall all of them sing the
hymn of return. Next morning, they shall launder their garments and wash themselves clean of the
blood of the guilty corpses and return to their assigned positions at the place where the line was drawn
up before the slain of the enemy fell. And there they shall all of them bless the God of Israel and extol
His name together in joy and take up word and say:
'Blessed be the God of Israel
Who keeps the loyalty of His covenant
and constantly evinces salvation
to the people whom He redeemed.
He has summoned those that were stumbling
[ ] (85)
but has gathered the horde of the heathen for extermination without survival,
exalting the melting heart by [His] justice, opening the mouth of the dumb for joyful song,
endowing with strength hands that were slack,
teaching them arts of war;
giving firm stance to tottering knees
and vigor to the shoulders of the bowed;
and [ ] to the lowly spirits;
firmness to the melting heart,
and [ ] to those whose way is blameless.
All wicked nations are come to an end
and all their heroes have no standing.
But we— [Thou hast granted us] a remnant;
[therefore will we bless] Thy name.
'O God of mercies,
Who keepest the covenant sworn unto our fathers,
and Who, throughout all our generations,
hast wondrously shown forth Thy mercies unto our remnant,
[Thou hast caused us to prevail] against the dominion of Belial
that, for all His covert hostility,
he has not thrust us away from Thy covenant.
Thou hast rebuked the spirits of His lot
[ ] the [ ] of his sway.
Thou hast preserved the life
of [the people] whom Thou didst redeem;
hast upholden the falling by Thy strength,
but cut down all the proud of stature.
Their warriors have none to deliver them;
their fleet men (86) have no escape;
their honored men Thou turnest to contempt;
and every creature of vanity [thou reducest to nau]ght
But we—we are Thy holy people;
For Thy holy works we will praise Thy name,
and for Thy deeds of power we will extol [Thy][ ]
at all the stated times, and at all the foreordained moments of nature:
at the coming of day and night,
and the outgoing of evening and morning; (87)
for great is [ ] of Thy [ ]
and Thy mysterious wonders in the heights.
For Thou raisest up unto Thee out of the dust,
and easiest down from the angels.
Be exalted, be exalted, O God of gods, (88) and lift Thyself up in Thy wrath! [ ]
[Let destruction befall] the Sons of Darkness,
but let Thy great light shine [for the Sons of, Light ]'.
***
B (89)
[Preparations For Battle]
(xv, 1-2)
***
[For it is a 'time of trouble for Israel',] (90) and of the [visitation of war upon all the nations. They that
have cast their lot with God shall [be blessed] with everlasting redemption, but annihilation shall
overtake all the wicked nations. All who have been making preparations for the war shall go and pitch
camp against the king of the Kit-tians and against all the army of Belial that are destined along with
him [for the day of vengeance] by God's sword.
=======
[Of The Exhortation Of The Troops]
(xv, 3-xvi, 1)
The high priest shall stand up with his brethren the priests and the levites and all the men of the ranks
beside him, and shall recite in their hearing the prayer of the battle line and shall rehearse to them the
full order of regulations for the occasion together with all the words of their thanksgivings, and he
shall there marshal all the lines according to [ ]; and the priest that is chosen by the unanimous
decision of his brethren to officiate at the moment of vengeance (91) shall walk about and encourage
all the troops and say:
'Be strong and stout-hearted and acquit ye as men of valor. Be not afeared neither dismayed [neither
terrified before] them; and be not a-quail neither awe-struck before them, and turn not back, neither [ ],
for they are a wicked horde, and all their deeds are in darkness, and for darkness is all their craving.
But all their refuges and strength shall be as smoke that dissolves, and all their multitudinous throng [
]. None of their [ ] shall be found any more, and all their ruinous structure (92) shall be speedily cut
down [ ].
Be of good courage for the battle of God; for this day has been determined as the day of battle [ ]
against all [ ] and as the day of combat against all flesh. The God of Israel lifts up His hand with
wondrous power [against] all the spirits of wickedness [ ]. And the warrior angels gird themselves for
battle; they are marshalled in serried ranks and [mustered] for the day [of combat] [ ], to remove [ ] in
his destruction'.
***
The God of Israel has [summoned] a sword against all the nations, (93) but with the saints of His
people He will do a work of power'.
=======
[Of The Order Of Battle]
(xvi, 2-9)
This is the order of their operations [ ] when they stand over against the camps of the Kittians. After
the priests have sounded a blast for them on the trumpets of [memorial,] (94) they shall open gaps [in
the ranks], and the infantry shall go forth, and their columns shall stand between the lines; and the
priests shall sound for them the, signal for drawing up the lines, and at the sound of the trumpets the
chiefs shall disperse and each take up his position at his assigned place.
Then the priests shall blow a second time, and when they stand over against the line of the Kittians,
within hurling distance, each man shall raise his hand with the weapon in it. Six [times] shall the
priests sound on the trumpets the signal for carnage—a sharp, insistent sound, to direct the battle. And
the levites and all the people with rams' horns shall sound a loud blast. And as the sound goes forth,
they shall start lashing out and felling the Kittians. All the people shall silence then" war-cries while
the priests are sounding on the trumpets the signal for carnage. And the battle shall be waged
victoriously against the Kittians.
=======
[Of Encouragement In Moments Of Reverse]
(xvi, 11-xvii, 15)
In the event that Belial girds himself to help the Children of Darkness, so that through God's
inscrutable will and as a means whereby he may 'put the gold to the test',95 the corpses of the infantry
begin to fall, the priests shall sound the signal of assembly for the second line to go out as a relief to
the battle. They shall stand between the lines, and as the relief approaches the original line, they shall
sound the signal for the former to retire. Then the high priests shall come near and stand before the
second line and encourage them [ ] in God's war. And he shall take up word and say:
'[Blessed be He who] strengthens the heart of His people; who "tests [the gold"]. He will not suffer
your slain [to be many]. For ye have heard of old of the mysterious ways of God'.
'[ ] and He hath appointed their retribution, hotly pursuing them; and [He will come to the rescue] of
those tested in the trial, [ ]. And He hath sharpened His weapons, and they shall not be [blunted] until
the wicked is [consumed.] And as for you, remember the judgment passed upon Nadab and [Abih]u,
the sons of Aaron. By passing judgment upon them God also shewed His holiness before the sight of
the people, in that he [at once] chose [Eleazar] and Ithamar to confirm the covenant of eternal
[priesthood]. (96)
'And ye—be of good courage and fear them not. For they are but vanity. All their craving is for
emptiness and futility, and that in which they rely shall be as though it had never been. But as for the
God of Israel, all that has been and is and shall be throughout the vicissitudes of all time are in His
hand.
'This is the day which He hath appointed for abasing and humbling the [Prince] of the Dominion of
Wickedness. But He will send perpetual help to those who have a share in His redemption through the
power of Michael, (97) the mighty, ministering angel; and He will send also an eternal light to light up
the children of Israel with joy. (98) They that have cast their lot with God shall enjoy peace and
blessing.
In this way, the rule of Michael will be exalted among the angels, and the dominion of Israel among all
flesh. Righteousness shall flourish in heaven, and all who espouse God's truth shall rejoice in the
knowledge of eternal things. And ye, the sons of His covenant, be of good courage in the trial which
God visits upon you, until He gives the sign (99) that He has completed His test. His secret powers
will always support you'.
After these words, the priests shall blow a blast to deploy the various divisions of the line; and at the
sound of the trumpets, the columns shall break up and take up positions in their assigned places.
Then the priests shall sound a second blast on the trumpets to bid them draw near. And when the men
of the line draw near the lines of the Kittians, and are within hurling distance, everyone shall raise his
hand with his weapons in it, and the priests shall sound on the trumpets the signal for carnage, and all
the people with rams' horns shall sound a blast, and the infantry shall start to launch out against the
army of the Kittians, and to fell them. Then all the people shall silence the sound of the blast, while the
priests keep on blowing [ ] to attacks before them.
=======
[Of Thanksgiving For Victory]
(xviii, 1-15)
When the great hand of God is raised against Belial and against all the forces under his dominion,
inflicting on them an eternal discomfiture, and when the war-cry of Israel and of the holy beings rings
out, as they pursue Assyria; and when the sons of Japhet fall never to rise, and when the Kittians are
cut off without [survivor]; then, [ ] when the hand of the God of Israel has indeed prevailed against all
the multitude of Belial, the priests shall sound the blasts of memorial, and all the lines of battle shall
rally unto them, and all shall receive their portion of the spoil [ ] to 'devote' it. (100) And when the sun
is hasting to set on that day, the high priest shall stand up, and the priests and the levites that are with
him, and he shall look upon the [ ] battle array and there bless the God of Israel. And they shall take up
word and say:
'Blessed be Thy name, O God [of merci]es, for Thou hast done great and wondrous things. From of old
hast Thou kept Thy covenant unto us; and because of that [cov]enant of Thine (and) in accordance
with Thy goodness towards us, Thou hast oftimes opened for us gates of salvation, when we were
oppressed. So hast Thou done, O God of righteousness, for Thy name's sake.
'[Verily, Thou hast wrought] wondrously, and the like of this hath not been from of old. Thou it is who
determined [this] time for us, and this day [Thy glory] hath shone upon us, [ ] and Thy [ ] is with us,
ensuring perpetual redemption, removing the enemy from us, that he be no more. And Thy mighty
hand [ ] felleth our foemen until final discomfiture. And now the day is pressing upon us to chase after
their horde, for Thou [hast] [ ] and chilled the hearts of [their] mighty men, that they cannot stand.
Thine is the power, (101) and in Thy hand lies [the issue of] war, and there is none [can withstand
Thee]'.
***
(Column 19, the concluding column, is largely a duplicate of the high priest's exhortation in Column
12. It is preserved in fragmentary fashion.)
~~~~~~~
The Rout Of Belial: Scriptural Predictions
i-iv
... the LORD will take away from you all sickness [Deut. 7.5]
... [And as for the text which has them saying,] Let us be like the tribes of (other) countries [Ezek.
20.32], ... in an eschatological sense (1) this refers to the time when [Belial] will seek [to seduce
them]. (2) ... Specifically, it refers to the fact that a man will arise ... ; from him [will come a very
fla]me (?), and [his partisans (?)] will be like a fire to the entire world. (3) It is concerning them that it
is writ that in the Last Days [there will arise] intemperate men (4) who will operate with the spirits [of
Darkness] and attack the partisans of Light (5) who will be in a state of mourning through the
domination of Belial. (6) ... [Howbeit, those who feel this sense of] mourning are [everyone of them
registered and spelled out] by name [in God's record (7). .., and He,] being a god of mercy (8) and the
God of Israel, [will, when He] deals retribution, [show mercy to] those prophets of Judah whom Belial
[seduced], (9) and they will be forgiven (10) for all time, and He will bless them, forasmuch as He has
said that He would bless them for ever [II Sam. 7.29].
... The several epochs which are to be completed, [the nam]es of their leading men (lit. fathers), [the
number of] their years and the periods of their office, [together with their] ... and language, are all
spelled out, man for man ... ; [and] behold, [the names of their] progeny are all inscribed on the
(heavenly) tablets (11) which God [communicated to] ... , (12) apprising him of the number of the
(successive) generations, and which he gave as an inheritance ... to him and his seed for ever. And he
proceeded to go thence. (13) ...
Blow the ram's horn in Gibeah [Hos. 5.8]. The ram's horn is (symbolic of) the Book of... The reference
is to a second (giving of) the Book of the Law (Torah), (14) which the men of His council [have
spurned]. They have spoken rebelliously against it (or, Him), (15) and for[get (?)]... the great signs
(16) [which He is displaying] over ... and Jacob, as He stands upon the winepress and makes merry
over the flow of [the juice]. (17) And as for the saying that He will cut off their enemies by the sword,
(18) the reference in the word sword is to His own partisans (lit. the men of His counsel).
And as to the statement, ...
v-vi
... [As to] the prophet [Isaiah's statement], This year you shall feed on casual grains [Isa. 37.30], the
casual grains denote the [Wr]ath (19) which will endure until the Time of Testing. (20) Thereafter
there will arise [a Teacher of Righteousness (?)], (21) for they are all of them (mere) children; (22)
they have bartered [their (finer) instincts for foolish delusion]. (23) These 'foolish men' are those who
[disdain(?)] the Book [of Study(?)]. (24) The Torah of these fools is [ ], wherefore (Scripture) has
called them [Pursuers of infamy (Ps. 119, 150)], (25) in conformity with the statement, He devises
infamous plans, to ruin the poor by falsehoods [Isa. 32.7], thereby poisoning(?) (26) Israel.
For the Chief Musician; attributed to David. In the LORD have I taken refuge. How then can you go
saying to me: Flee to the mountains like a bird! See how the wicked are bending their bows, are fitting
the arrow to the string [Psalm 11.1-2]. The word flee here connotes that Godminded men [are being
made to flee] like a bird from His Place and are being driven into exile. (27) Allusion is made to them
in the Book of .. , (28)
For the Chief Musician: on the octave (29) [Psalm 12.1]. The reference is to the Eighth (world-)
period, (30) [when ..., and the wicked will have] no peace because they are 'seekers after smooth
things'. (31)
(As to the words:) Butchering of bullocks and slaughtering of sheep; wining and dining [Isa. 22.13],
the reference is to the behavior of the partisans of Belial who [savage (32) the men that have been
observing] the Law-that is, the men who form (this) commune (of ours), (33) the men who be[ar the]
yo[ke of God's service]. (34)
vii
[And as to the text which says ... , this refers to the fact that He will destr]oy [the partisans of Belial]
who seek to harm [ ]. It is to them that Scripture refers when it speaks in the Book of the pro[phet]
Ezekiel of men against whom there will be assembled (35) [.... and upon whom there will be visited
His plag]ues (?) (36)—men who have been worshipping [other] go[ds, and directing their lusts (?)]
towards that which is (really) impure to them and to that which .... [cp. Ezek. 30.34-36].
viii
[Fragmentary]
ix
... upon them at the end [of days]. ... [Retribution will befall] them amid the multitude of those who
will be purged away. (37) ... These are the congregation of them that 'seek after [smooth things]' (38)
... through their frenzy and hostility. ... [When God purges them] from Judah [He will at the same time
wreak vengeance] on all the peoples, [entering into judgment] with righteous and wicked (alike), (39)
with the foolish and the naive, [and with those who have not rem]oved (their) moral uncleanli-ness,
(40) so that, in the la[st] generation, (41) He might set them aright.
x-xi
The words of the LORD are words as good as pure metals, silver purified by smelting (here) on earth,
gold seven times refined [Psalm 12.7]. (42) This chimes with the text which says: Look at this
(precious) stone which I set before Joshua, one stone with seven facets. ... [Look, 'It is I'] quoth the
LORD, '[that will make] the engraving upon if [Zech. 3.9]....
... It is to them that Scripture alludes when it says, I will heal the (43) ... [ ]. [The slag represents a]ll
the men of Belial and all the rabble that follows in then-wake, (44) [while the purified silver and the
refined gold] stand for the (authentic) exponent of the Law, for [in him] there is no [alloy]. (45) ... ; no
man will desert his post. (46) When [these men] arise (or, hold office), [the baser metal will indeed be
purged away—that is, the sons of darkness (?)] who have been causing the sons of light to stumble.
(47) ...
[How long, O LORD,] wilt Thou forget [me? (Will it be) for ever? How long wilt Thou hi]de Thy face
from me? How long must I suffer [anguish in my soul, grief in my heart day by day]? How long [is my
enemy to triumph over me? (Psalm 13.2-3)]. The meaning of the words for ever is that the heart of
men of (48) .... to test them and refine them. (49) The enemy (of whom the text speaks) has been
saying, ....
xii—xiii
.... [As to the text which says,] Guidance (torah) [shall not perish] from the pri[est, nor counsel from
the sage, nor the word] from the prophet [Jer. 18.18], in an eschatological sense [this refers to] the
same situation as is described by David when he says, Con[demn me] not, LORD, in Thine anger,
[neither chasten me in Thy wrath. Be gracious to me, LORD,] for I am weak; [heal me, O LORD, for
my bones are perturbed; yea,] my very soul is greatly perturbed; and now, LORD, how long more? Be
gracious to me, rescue [my] soul! [Psalm 6.2-3.] [The reference is to those who are being crashed (?)
and exposed to oblo]quy (50) on account of [the machinations of] Belial to destroy them in his fury,
not leaving th[em ....] (51) so that in the (whole) city there be not more than but ten (52) righteous
men, inasmuch as he has caused the spirit of truth [to depart from them(?), and they are indeed greatly
perturbed (?)], for, through the machinations of Belial, (53) both they themselves and their brethren (in
general) have no [peace], and (Belial) keeps strengthening [his snares(?)] (54) against th[em]....
(Howbeit), [God and] the angel of His truth will bring aid to all the sons of light. [He will snatch them]
out of the hand of Belial (55) [who now plans to scatter] and disperse them in a dry and desolate land.
(56)
This is indeed the time of affliction. (57) .. The righteous is in flight, but the great hand of God will be
with them to help them. [He will deliver them] from all the spirits of [perversity because] they have
placed [their reliance (or, refuge) in the wond]rous acts of God and of His holy beings. (58) They will
(yet) come to Zion in joy and to Jerusalem [in jubilation. ....]. [Be]lial and all his partisans [will be
routed] and [destroyed] for ever, while all the sons of li[ght] will be ingathered. (59)
.... [This is what is meant by Scripture] when it says, As for the saints that are on ear[th], and the worthy among the general, it is [in them} that I take delight [Psalm 16.3], (60) [even though now there
be (?) melting of heart and] quaking of knees and writhing in every limb [Nahum 2.11]. [This is the
situation implied in the verse,] Pay heed unto my plaint, give ear unto [my prayer] (Psalm 17.1). ... the
council of the commune, (61) and He/it. ...
XV-XXX
(There are sixteen further fragments containing only isolated words and parts of words.)
The Coming Doom
[They pay no heed to the] real hidden [meaning of things, but divert themselves instead with all] kinds
of iniquitous arcane lore. [ ] They do not know the hidden meaning of what is actually taking place,
nor have they ever understood the lessons of the past. Consequently, they have no knowledge of what
is coming upon them and have done nothing to save their souls from the deeper implications of present
events.
This, however, will symbolize things for you. What is going to happen is, as it were, that all iniquity is
going to be shut up in the womb and prevented from coming to birth. Wrong is going to depart before
Right, as darkness departs before light As smoke disappears and is no more, so will Wrong disappear
for ever. But Right will be revealed like the sun. The world will rest on a sound foundation. All who
cling to rarefied arcane lore will cease to exist. The world will be filled with knowledge, and ignorance
exist no more.
The thing is certain to come. The prophecy is true, and by this you may know that it will not be
revoked:
Do not all peoples hate wrongdoing? Yet, is it not rampant among them all? Are not the praises of
truth sung by all nations? Yet is there a single race or tribe that really adheres to it? What nation likes
to be oppressed by a stronger power? Or who wants his property plundered unjustly? Yet, is there a
single nation that has not oppressed its neighbor? Or where in the world will you find a people that has
not plundered the property of another?
***
Weal And Woe: An Exhortation
(I, i 5-15)
(The opening lines are fragmentary, but seem to say that God is pure and holy and will champion
[those that espouse] His tr[uth], but will [call evildoers to accou]nt (1) and exact punishment from
them, even if they go on sinning ten times over, (2) i.e., incessantly.)
....... and there will be no strength to withstand it (3)(i.e., the punishment), neither any hope (4) for [the
guilty]. (5) Who will be able to withstand God's (*) angels, for like a blazing fire will they execute
judgment, and His spirits will [wreak vengeance]? (6) Mere mortals that ye be, h[ow will ye escape]?
For behold, man is like grass which sprouts from its ground, and his glory blossoms like a flower;
when once God's (*) breath has blown [upon it, its root] withers, (7) and the wind carries off its flower,
so that it has no continuance, (but) [peri]shes for ev[er], and in consequence of (a single) gust of wind,
is no more to be found. (So) will men seek him, but find him not; (8) and there will be no hope. He-
[his] da[ys] are like a shadow on the grou[nd]. (9) (Wherefore,) my people, now hearken to me, and ye
fools give mind to me, and grow wise (10) through (awareness of) God's (*) [po]wer. Recall the
wonders He wrought in Egypt and His portents [in the Land of Ham, (11) and so] let your hearts take
fright at the terror He wields. (12)
---[*] Heb. 'His'.
---(I, ii)
Do, then, [His] wi[ll with a perfect heart, (13) for so will He spare] your lives, (†) in accordance with
His goodly mercies.
Seek out for yourselves a way to life; (14) [make ye a straight] highroad (15) to [deliverance] and
survival for your children after you. Wherefore should ye yield your [souls] to She[ol, (‡) and your
bodies to the scourges of that Ju]dgment which—so I have heard—(is coming) upon us? (16)
Defy not the words of the LORD. (17) Take not a (single) step [away from the holy Law] (18) which
was writ (19) [for the offspring of Ja]cob (and) which God (§) decreed (20) for (that of) Isaac.
Is not a single day [in His courts] better than ten (outside them)? (21) [Let] the fear of Him [be with
you day by day,] (22) and not (merely) from time to time. [So will ye be delivered] alike from the
Terror and 'the fowler's snare'; (23) [salvation will be yours and redemption, [and ye will be spared]
from His angels (of judgment). For there is no darkness [where wrongdoers and frowa]rd (men) can be
[hid]. (24) (Nay,) God (§) [will visit] His [sc]ourge [upon them]. (25) I, for my part, am conscious (of
this), (26) but ye—what will ye [do on the day of Inquisition, (27) at the time when] woe proceeds
[from] Him unto every people?
Happy is the man to whom there has been given out of [His] tr[easury the reward reserved for them
that fear Him and the glo]ry which they have earned! (**) (28)
Let not the wicked vaunt themselves, (29) saying: 'He will not take count of [my wrongdoing, neither
compute it] against me, for He [always shows mercy] to Israel, so that when He takes measure thereof,
it will be with the measure of [kind]ness, (††) and the whole of His people will it be that He will
redeem. (Only) them that h[ate Him] will He slay, [and (only) the heathen will He de]str[oy]? 'Nay,'
says He, 'it is (only) the man that [dispenses (?) good]ness (?) that will receive it; [(only) the man who
se]eks it (30) that will find it; and [(only) the man who ... es] it that will fall heir (?) to it.(31)
---[†] Heb. 'souls'.
[‡] That is, the netherworld.
[§] Heb. 'He'.
(**) Heb. simply, 'their glory'.
[††] Heb. '[good]ness'.
---Along with it also will go ... and joy of heart together with [abundance] of God's mercies, ... and
salvation [everlasting]. (32) Happy is the man who practises it and does not ...; (33) who does not go
trying to acquire it (‡‡) with disingenuous [heart], (34) nor lay claim (35) to it by dissimulation. (36)
So will he too possess it, even as it <was> bestow<ed> (37) upon his forebears, [and if he but cling to
it] with all his might and main, (§§) interminably with all his [power], he (too) will leave it as a
heritage to his offspring. (38) I know, (39) indeed, that God will mete out to [His] people their
[deserts]. (40) ...
***
(III, 11-15)
.... [God will probe] into the inner recesses of man's being, and search out his reins. (41)
.... It is the tongue of one who has knowledge that has been speaking. (42) God has made hands [to
carry out His purpose(?)]. ...
---[‡‡] Heb. "who does not seek it'.
[§§] Heb. 'with all the might of his strength'.
---The Last Jubilee: A Sermon ('Melchizedek Texts')
(Reconstruction)
{1} I take my text from the law of the jubilee. In this year of the jubilee, we read, you shall return,
everyone of you, to his patrimony (Lev. 25.13).
{2-3} THIS is OF A PIECE WITH the commandment concerning the Period of Remission. WHAT is
MEANT BY THE PERIOD OF REMISSION, SAYS THE SCRIPTURE, is THAT ANYONE WHO
HAS MADE A LOAN TO HIS NEIGHBOR IS THEN NOT TO EXACT PAYMENT OF IT FROM
THAT NEIGHBOR OR KINSMAN, SEEING THAT A PERIOD OF
{4} REMISSION HAS BEEN DECLARED BY GOD (l) (Deut. 15.2).
AS APPLIED TO THE LAST DAYS, (2) THIS REFERS TO THE Liberation (3) of those IN
CAPTIVITY, CONSONANT WITH THE WORDS of Isaiah: (The Lord has sent me) to proclaim
liberation to captives (Isa. 61.1). Since the (Hebrew) word for 'liberation' is homonymous with one
meaning 'swallow' (4)—which is, of course, a
{5} celestial creature—THIS SIGNIFIES THAT THEY WILL BECOME ONE WITH THE SONS
OF HEAVEN. (5)
The same may be expressed ALSO by saying that [THEY WILL PARTAKE] [OF THE
INHERITANCE OF [MELCHIZEDEK. Melchizedek, you will recall, was 'a priest of God Most High'
who pronounced the blessing of that God over our father Abraham (Gen. 14.18-20). Now, the
'inheritance' of a priest is, as we learn from the Scriptures, the Lord God Himself, (6) and since the
God of Melchizedek is expressly described as 'owner of heaven and earth', the meaning is that
Abraham will thenceforth have a stake in the things both of heaven on high and of the earth below. (7)
Moreover, since the priesthood in Israel and that of Melchizedek himself are said in Scripture to be
eter-nal (cf. Num. 25.13; Ps. 110.4), it is not only to Abraham but also to his offspring that this
privilege is vouchsafed; they will be linked to God in an everlast-ing covenant (cf. Gen. 17.7, 19, etc.)
and the Lord Himself will be their inheritance and patrimony (cf. Ezek. 44.28).
{6} At the final jubilee, therefore, GOD WILL IN FACT BE RESTORING THEM TO what is
rightfully theirs; they will indeed 'return, every one, to his patrimony'.
As FOR THE ALLUSION in the law of the jubilee (Lev.25.10) TO proclaiming liberation to them,
THIS IS TO BE UNDERSTOOD ALSO IN THE SENSE THAT HE WILL THEN REMIT [THE
FULL TERM OF] THE PUNISHMENT FOR THEIR MISDEEDS, for the (Hebrew) word rendered
'liberation' is also a technical term for the remission of debts. (8)
{7} ALL THIS WILL HAPPEN IN THE FINAL 'WEEK' OF A SERIES OF YEARS INVOLVING
NINE PRECEDING JUBI-LEES. (9) WHEN, THEREFORE, THE SCRIPTURE SPEAKS OF A
DAY OF ATONEMENT to be observed in the seventh month, on the tenth day of that month (Lev.
25.9) WHAT is MEANT, in an eschatological sense, is THAT this final jubilee will be marked BY A
DAY ON WHICH
{8} ALL THE CHILDREN OF LIGHT (10) AND ALL WHO HAVE CAST THEIR LOT WITH
(THE CAUSE OF) RIGHTEOUS-NESS (11) WILL ACHIEVE FORGIVENESS OF THEIR SIN.
[WHEREAS THE WICKED WILL REAP THEIR DESERTS AND BE BROUGHT TO AN E]ND.
{9} THIS is THE ERA which Isaiah terms the Year on Favor (Isa. 61.2) (12)-that is, the one designed,
by God's favor, for the King of Righteousness-which is what, by his very name, MELCHIZEDEK
prefigures-to come into his dominion. [He WILL TAKE THE LEAD AMONG] GOD'S
(HEAVENLY) SAINTS (13) IN EXECUTING
{10} THE VARIOUS SENTENCES OF JUDGMENT, (14) EVEN AS IT is SAID IN THE SONGS
(15) OF DAVID: God has taken His stand in the council divine, among the beings divine, (16) to
render judgment (Ps. 82.1). OR AGAIN, in another
{11} place, IT SAYS: (Though a very congregation of (heathen) peoples now surround you), rise
above it, O Israel, and return to your eminence, (17) (for) God will judge the peoples (Ps. 7.8-9). The
return in question is, of course, that which is prefigured in the rule of the jubilee that everyone is then
to return to his patrimony (Lev. 25.13).
Moreover, it should be observed that the (Hebrew) word for Favor can also be understood, by a
different derivation, (18) to mean the expiration of a term of punishment, so that this too is implied in
the prophet's expression.
THERE is A FURTHER REFERENCE TO THIS FINAL JUDGMENT IN THE CONTINUATION
OF THE VERSE FROM THE PSALTER. How long, we read, will you go judging unjustly and
showing partiality to the wicked? Selah.
{12} (Ps. 7.9). THE ALLUSION is TO BELIAL AND THE SPIRITS OF HIS ILK (19)—THAT is,
TO (elders who sit in assizes but) DEFY GOD'S STATUTES IN ORDER TO PER[VERT
{13} JUSTICE]. (20) The future King of Righteousness-that is, MELCHIZEDEK redivivus—WILL
EXECUTE [UPON THEM] GOD'S AVENGING JUDGMENTS, AND at the same
{14} time DELIVER [THE JUST] FROM THE HANDS OF BELIAL AND ALL (THOSE) SPIRITS
OF HIS ILK. WlTH ALL 'THE ANGELS [OF RIGHTEOUSNESS]' (21) AT HIS AID, HE WILL
[BLA]ST [THE COUNCIL OF] BELIAL [TO DESTRUCTION]. (22) But the faithful, as the Psalmist
says, will return to (their) eminence (ibid.), THE EMINENCE IN QUESTION BEING THE
[DESTINATION] OF ALL WHO ARE INDEED CHILDREN OF GOD.
{15} THE visi[TATioN] (23) OF WHICH I HAVE BEEN SPEAKING IS THE SAME AS THE DAY
OF [RETRIBUTION] (24) OF WHICH THE PROPHET [ISA]IAH SPEAKS IN THE WORDS:
{16} How fair upon the mountains are the feet of the herald who proclaims 'Shalom! (peace)', the
herald of good tidings who proclaims 'Salvation'! who says to Zion, 'Your God has now claimed His
kingdom!' (Isa. 52.7), for the word shalom may also be read shillum, 'retribution', as who should say,
'All is hell!' rather than 'All is well!'
{17} THE MOUNTAINS in that passage STAND FOR THE PROPHETS, [AND THE FEET FOR
THEIR WORDS, WHEREBY] THEY BR[ING THEIR MESSAGE] TO ALL [WHO ARE WILLING
TO LISTEN]; (25) WHILE THE HERALD is he who is elsewhere described AS THE ONE
ANOINTED
{18} WITH THE SPIRIT (Isa. 61.1)—THE SAME WHOM DAN-[IEL] CALLS THE [ANOINTED
LEADER WHO WILL MAKE HIS APPEARANCE AT THE END OF SEVEN WEEKS (OF
{19} YEARS) (26)—THAT IS, AT THE FINAL JUBILEE.] Similarly, THE HERALD OF GOOD
TIDINGS, THE SAME WHO PROCLAIMS ['SHALOM'] is HE OF WHOM IT is WRITTEN: [(The
Lord has sent me) to comfort all who mourn,
{20-22} etc.] (Isa. 61.3), for the word shalom suggests also the expression shallem nihumim, (27)
which is used of comforting mourners (Isa. 57.18). THE COMFORT IN QUESTION WILL
CONSIST IN GIVING THEM A TRUE OVER-ALL VIEW OF THE SUCCESSIVE ERAS OF
HISTORY (LIT. THE WORLD), IN THEIR RESPECTIVE TIMES. (28)
{22} At that time, IT WILL BE FROM BELIAL, not from God, THAT MEN WILL TURN AWAY
IN REBELLION, (29) AND THERE WILL [BE A RE-ESTABLISHMENT OF THE REIGN OF
RIGHTEOUSNESS, PERVERSITY BEING CON{23} FOUNDED] BY THE JUDGMENTS OF GOD. THIS is WHAT SCRIPTURE IMPLIES EM
THE WORDS, Who says to Zion, Your God has now claimed His kingdom! (Isa. 52.7), THE TERM
ZlON THERE DENOTING THE TOTAL CONGRE{24} GATION OF THE 'SONS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS' (30)—THAT IS,' THOSE WHO
MAINTAIN THE COVENANT (31) AND TURN AWAY FROM THE POPULAR TREND, (32)
AND YOUR GOD
{25} SIGNIFYING [THE KING OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, ALIAS MELCHIZEDEK REDIVrVUS,
WHO WILL DEST]ROY(?) BELIAL.
OUR TEXT SPEAKS ALSO OF SOUNDING A LOUD ] TRUMPET BLAST THROUGHOUT THE
LAND ON THE TENTH DAY OF THE SEVENTH MONTH (Lev. 25.9). [As APPLIED TO THE
LAST DAYS, THIS REFERS TO THE FANFARE WHICH WILL THEN BE SOUNDED BEFORE
THE MESSIANIC KING.] (33)
(The rest is lost)
=======
The New Covenant
(Col. 1)
.....
[but wilt Thou] allot unto the righteous.
The portion of the wicked shall be [to be afflicted with pain]s in their bones and to be a reproach to all
flesh; but the righteous [shall be destined to en]joy the rich delights (1) of heaven and to be [glut]ted
(2) on the yield of the earth.
[Thou wilt distinguish between the right]eous and the wicked.
Thou wilt give the wicked as our [ran]som, and the faithless [in exchange for us]. (3)
[Thou wilt make] an end of all that oppress us;
and we shall give thanks unto Thy name for ever, [and bless Thee alway;]
for this it is for which Thou hast created us,
and that it is that [beseemeth] Thee.
BLESSED ...
(Col. 2)
[and Thou hast appointed] the greater luminary for the season of [day and the lesser luminary for the
season of night], (4) and there is no overstepping their bounds. They all [minister unto Thee, and defy
not Thy word], (5) and their sway is over all the world.
But the seed of man hath not understood all of which Thou hast made it heir, neither have men known
Thee whensoever Thou hast spoken;
but they have done more wickedly than all things else, and have not perceived (6) Thy great power.
And Thou hast rejected them, because Thou delightest not in wrongdoing, and wickedness hath no
standing in Thy presence.
Howbeit, in the time of Thy good pleasure, (7) Thou wilt (again) choose unto Thyself a people, for
Thou hast remembered Thy covenant; and Thou wilt make them to be set apart unto Thee as an holy
thing distinct from all the peoples; and Thou wilt renew Thy Covenant unto them with a show of glory
(8) and with words of Thy holy [spirit,] with works of Thy hand and with a script of Thy right hand,
revealing unto them both the basic roots (9) of glory and the heights of eternity; [ ; and Thou wilt appoint] for them a faithful shepherd, (10) one who will [ ] the lowly and [ ] the [ ].
Manual Of Discipline For The Future Congregation Of Israel
This is the rule for the whole body of Israel when, in the future, they lead their lives in the manner of
the sons of Zadok, the priests, and of those associated with them—the men who declined to follow the
popular trend, who constituted the true community of God, who went on keeping the Covenant in the
midst of general wickedness and so made atonement for the land:
All that present themselves are to be assembled together, women and children included. Then, all the
provisions of the Covenant are to be read out aloud to them, and they are to be instructed about all its
injunctions, so that no one may fall into error through ignorance.
And this is the rule for all that make up the complement of that body—that is, for every individual who
is an Israelite by birth:
Every person is to be trained from childhood in the Book of Study, to be enlightened (so far as his age
permits) in the various provisions of the Covenant and to be schooled in its various injunctions for a
period of ten years; after which he is to be liable to the regulations regarding the several degrees of
purity.
At twenty, he is to undergo an examination preparatory to his admission by vote, as a constituent
member of his family, to the council of the holy community. He is not to have carnal knowledge of
woman until he is twenty years old and has reached the age of discretion. Furthermore, it is only then
that he is to be eligible to give testimony in matters involving the laws of the Torah or to attend
judicial hearings.
At twenty-five, he is to take his place in the formal structure of the holy community and be eligible for
com-munal office.
At thirty, he may take part in litigation and in rendering judgments and may occupy a position on the
staff of the militia—that is, as the captain of a battalion, company, squadron or platoon or as one of the
tribal commissioners or officers selected from the various families by the Aaronid priests.
All heads of families within the community who are chosen by lot for communal service, 'to go in and
coma out before the congregation', are to receive their assign-ments in accordance with their
intellectual ability and their moral integrity. Everyone is to respect the rank of his fellow, and in case
of dispute between any two men, each is to be given his commission according to his capacity.
No one who is feeble-minded is to take part in litigation or in rendering judgments in any matter
affecting the community as a whole, or is he to occupy any communal office or to serve in the armed
forces in wars against the heathen. His family, however, is to be duly registered in the military roster,
and he is to be drafted [instead] for compulsory labor in the line of his usual occupation.
The levites are to serve as local adjutants to the Aaronid priests in formally admitting to the armed
forces all members of the community selected for service as commissioners or officers in accordance
with the total military requirements to be laid down by the sons of Zadok, the priests and the heads of
the various families. Ditto in the matter of granting releases. The draft status of every man is to be
determined by the heads of the families.
If public notice is posted for a juridical or consultative assembly, or if notice of war be posted,
everyone is to observe a three-day period of personal sanctification, so that any one who presents
himself on any of these occasions may come duly prepared.
This refers to men over twenty who are eligible for summons to the council and likewise to all the
sages, scholars and learned men of the community—the so-called 'irreproachables'—and again to all
men serving in the armed forces, including the commissioners and officers and the captains of
battalions, companies, squadrons and platoons, as well as to the levites in the several departments of
their office. These together constitute the so-called 'dignitaries'—that is, the laymen who sit in the
presence of the sons of Zadok, the priests, at all deliberative assemblies.
No one who is afflicted by any form of human uncleanness is to be admitted to the community, nor is
anyone who becomes so afflicted to maintain his position within it. Similarly, no one who is afflicted
with a bodily defect, who is stricken in hands or feet, who is lame or blind or deaf or dumb, or who has
any visible bodily defect, is to be admitted to a place among the 'dignitaries' for 'holy angels are in the
congregation'.
If any such person has something to say to the sacred council, an oral deposition is to be taken from
him, but he himself is not to come, seeing that he is afflicted.
This is the protocol for a session of the dignitaries, the men eligible for summons to the consultative
council, in the event that the anointed (king) should be present among them:
The (high) priest, as head of the entire community of Israel, is to come first, and the heads of the
Aaronid priestly families and the dignitaries—that is, the men eligible for summons to meetings of the
general council—are to take their seats before him in order of rank. After that, the anointed (king),
being a layman, is to come, and the chiefs of the armed forces are to take their seats before him in
order of rank, each occupying the same position as he does in camp or on the march. Then, in turn, the
heads of the families of the community, together with the sages, [scholars and learned men], are to
take their seats before them.
If they happen to be foregathering for a common meal or to drink wine together, when the common
board has been spread or the wine mixed for drinking, no one is to stretch out his hand for the first
portion of the bread or wine prior to the priest. It is he who is to pronounce the blessing over the first
portion of the bread or wine, and it is he that is first to stretch out his hand to the bread. After that, the
anointed (king), a layman, is to stretch out his hand to the bread; and after that the members of the
community in general are to pronounce the blessing, in order of rank.
This rule is to obtain at all meals where there are ten or more men present.
~~~~~~~
'Thy Kingdom Come'
1. The Messianic King
Genesis 49:10
[Ne'er shall the sceptre from Judah depart, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until (in the end)
one who owns them (1) shall come and claim the subservience of peoples.]
(This means that) the wielding of sovereignty (2) will [never] be diverted from the tribe of Judah. So
long as Israel possesses a government of its own, occupancy (3) of the throne shall [not] be dissociated
from (the line of) David. For the word mehoqeq (commonly rendered 'ruler's staff, is connected with
hoq, 'statute, stipulation', and thus) (4) refers to the covenant (sworn by God) regarding the kingship,
(5) while the 'feet' denote the clans of Israel. (6)
(The words, Until one who owns them shall come mean:) Until the coming of the legitimately anointed
(king), the Scion of David. (7) For it was to David and his seed that the covenant was given regarding
kingship over his people for eternal generations—(that covenant) which [the Lord] has indeed kept
[and maintained and now con-sum]mated (8) with the members of (this) Community, [the expression,
The subservience of peoples] referring to the church (9) of the members of [(this) Community].
=======
II. Testimonia: Proof-Texts Of The Messianic Era
A. The Commitment And The Promise
Deuteronomy 5.25-26 (28-29) (1-4)
And the LORD (1) spake unto Moses, saying: Thou hast heard (2) the voice of the words of this
people, which they have spoken unto thee. They have well said all that they have spoken. Would only
that they be so minded alway, to hold Me in awe and keep My commandments, that it may go well
with them and their children for ever!
=======
B. The Coming Prophet
Deuteronomy 18.18-19 (5-8)
I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, one like unto thee; and I will put My words
in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I command Him. And it shall be that if any man
hearken not unto My words which the prophet speaketh in My name, I shall require it of him.
=======
C. The Star Of Jacob
Numbers 24.15-17 (9-13)
And he took up his parable and said:
The rede of Balaam, son of Beor,
the rede of the man whose sight is undimmed, (3)
the rede of him who hears God's words,
who knows the mind (4) of Him on High,
who, though a-swoon, yet with open eyes
sees the Almighty in vision:
I see it, though not of this time,
descry it, though yet it be far:
A star out of Jacob is heading, (5)
out of Israel is rising a rod;
it shall smite the brow of Moab,
and batter all that work havoc! (6)
=======
D. The Role Of The Priest
Deuteronomy 33.8-11 (14-20)
And of Levi he said:
Bestow (7) on the Levites (8) the gift of Thy light,
Thy perfection (9) on them that are loyal to Thee
—whom Thou has put to the test, (10)
challenged as by waters of ordeal; (11)
who, saying to their fathers and mothers,
'We ignore you',
disregarding their kinsmen,
acknowledging not their own sons,
have stood sentinel over Thy word,
safeguarded Thy covenantthat they may bring the light of Thy judgments to Jacob (12)
and of Thy teaching (Torah) to Israel,
so setting (as it were) incense in Thy nostril
and a whole burnt-offering upon Thine altar. (13)
Endow them, LORD, (14) with the blessing of strength,
and favour the work of their hands;
smite the loins of them that rise up against them
and of them that hate them, that they rise not again!
=======
E. The Discomfiture Of The Impious
Joshua 6.26 (21-30)
Said Joshua when he had finished giving praise and rendering thanks in his praises: (15)
Cursed be the man that rebuildeth this city. (16)
With his firstborn shall he lay the foundation
thereof, and with his lastborn set up its gates!
The 'cursed one' in question is that man of Belial who is even now standing up to serve as a fowler's
snare (17) unto his people and a source of ruin to all its neighbours. He has stood up [to incite the two
so that] both of them are become as instruments of violence. They have proceeded to rebuild [the city
and have ere]cted for it a wall and towers that it may serve as a stronghold of wickedness. (18) [They
have done a shocking thing] in Israel and an appalling thing in Ephraim and Judah. (19) They have
wrought defilement in the land and great filthiness among [their] com[patriots, spilling blo]od like
water over the rampart of the daughter of Zion and in the bounds of Jerusalem.
***
III. A 'Messianic Florilegium
II Samuel, 7.10-14
[The Human Temple]
(10-lla) [I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may be settled there
un-disturbed;] and no son of perversity (1) shall oppress them any more, as has happened throughout
the past, ever since that day when I commanded judges to be over My people Israel.
The reference here is to the House [which God will cause to be built for His abiding] in the Last Days,
even as it is written in the Book of the Law: A sanctuary, O LORD, have Thy hands established,
(whence) the LORD shall reign for ever and ever [Ex. 15, 17-18]. It will be a house in which (as the
Scripture puts it) neither Ammonite nor Moabite nor half-breed nor alien nor stranger shall ever enter
[Deut 23.3-4; Ezek. 44.9], but where (only) those shall be that are God's saints. [Moreover, the words,
(whence) the LORD shall reign for ever] and ever (mean that) God will be manifest over it at all times,
and that never again, as in the past, will aliens lay waste the sanctuary of Israel on account of his sins.
What (in fact) God here declares is that (in the future) there shall be built for Him a sanctuary
constituted out of mankind itself (2)—a sanctuary in which performance of the things laid down in the
Law shall rank as the equivalent of the (erstwhile) burning of incense in His presence.
=======
[Freedom From Belial]
(11b) And as for His saying to David, I will give thee rest from all thine enemies, this means that God
will (then) give them rest from all those 'sons of Belial' who put stumbling blocks in their way in order
to compass their rack [and ruin], (3) i.e., from all who will (then) enter into the conspiracy (*) of Belial
and lay stumbling blocks for [the Children of] Light, devising devilish devices [†] against them, so as
to make them yield to Belial because [their hearts] have been led astray. (4)
---[*] Heb. counsel; cp. Nah., 1.11.
[†] Heb. devices of Belial.
---=======
[The Scion Of David]
(11c) Also the LORD telleth thee that He will build (5) thee an house ...
(12b) 7 will raise up thy seed after thee' ...
(13b) 7 will stablish the throne of his kingdom [for ever]'.
(14a) 7 will be unto him a father, and he shall be unto Me a son'. (6)
The 'he' in question is that Scion of David who shall function [and reign] in Zion in the Last Days,
alongside the Expounder of the Law, (7) even as the Scripture says: / will raise up the booth of David
that is fallen down [Amos 9.11]. These words refer to him who will (then) arise to bring salvation to
Israel. (8)
Psalm 1.1
=======
[Know Your Enemies]
Signification of the words, Happy is the man that hath not walked in the counsel of the wicked. The
reference here is to those who have turned aside from the ways (i.e., practices) of the people. A similar
expression occurs in the Book of the prophet Isaiah, in reference to the Last Days, viz. Then, with a
grasp of (His) hand, the LORD caused me to turn aside(9) from walking in the way of this people [Isa.
8.11].
The 'people' in question are the levites who, as it is written in the Book of the prophet Ezekiel, are
gone far away from Me, straying after their idols, in common with the (general) straying of Israel. (10)
They are those of the descendants of Zadok (11) who expound the Law to suit their policies (12) and
who follow [their own inclinations], apart from the consensus of the Communal Council.
Psalm 2.1-2
=======
[The Time Of Testing]
Why do the heathen rage,
and the peoples meditate a vain thing?
Kings of the earth set themselves up,
and rulers conspire
against the LORD and against His anointed.
The reference here is to those kings of the heathen (lit. nations) who, in the Last Days, will [conspire]
against the Elect of Israel. (13) This will be the Time of Testing (14) which is to come ...
=======
IV. The Wondrous Child
(Col. i 1-3)
The first two lines are fragmentary. They seem to refer to bodily marks which will characterize the
newborn child. Two of them will appear on the fiat (or palm) of his hand; others, resembling lentils,
elsewhere, and several very small spots on his thigh.—The reference to 'lentils' is particularly
interesting (though it has somewhat puzzled previous editors) because 'lentils' is the common term in
Greek, Latin, and Italian for freckles. (1)
(3-11)
[After tw]o years (2) he will know this from that (3). ... When he reaches puberty, he will be like ....
[and will, not be like (the average) m]an who knows nothing until he has mastered (4) the (usual)
couple of (lit three) (text) books.(5)
He will then acquire shrewdness and commonsense. (Even) professional seers [will foreg]ather (6) to
come to him on [their] knees. [For all their longevity and age, he will [surpass] both his father and his
forebears. (7)
He will be possessed of counsel and shrewdness [and] will know what men keep secret. Moreover, his
wisdom will go (forth) to all the peoples. (8) He will know the secrets of all the living, and all their
schemes against him will be brought to an end. The turpitude (or, defection) (9) of all the living will be
great, but it is his plans [that will prevail], inasmuch as he is the chosen of God. His birth and the
(very) breath which he draws (10) [have been ordained by One] whose plans endure for ever (11). ...
***
(Col. ii 1-13)
The first twelve lines are fragmentary. There is a reference to something which befell men of old,
children of corruption; (12) then to something bad; and then an obscure reference to (the) lentil. Just
possibly, what is here stated is that a worse disaster awaits mankind than that which befell their corrupt
ancestors in ancient times (i.e., at the Deluge); that all produce of the earth will go rank and bad, and
that there will not be even a mess of lentils—one of the most common dishes in the Near East (13)—to
eat. But this is, of course, simply a stab in the dark. There is then an allusion to something, evidently
calamitous, which is yet to come, and this is followed, probably by way of contrast, by a repetition of
the statement that the Wondrous Child draws his (very) breath [by the will of One whose plans endure]
for ever, the implication being, of course, that he himself will be exempt from the doom which awaits
the rest of mankind.
=======
[Lacuna of three lines]
Next, we find the isolated word, and cities. Since the ensuing clause begins, and they will be destroyed
(the form of the verb indicating a masculine subject) and proceeds to a reference to the inhabitants
[there]of, (14) what is here predicted is, in all likelihood, the imminent destruction of lands and cities
and of those who dwell in them. In between comes a fragmentary clause ending, and by words. A
tentative restoration of the whole passage might therefore be: [Kingdoms] and cities [will go down to
their doom ..... and] the inhabitants [there]of [who have transgressed by deeds] and by words (15) will
be destroyed.
(14-21)
We now come to the most obscure portion of the entire text. The following is a literal translation of the
words that remain:
Waters will come to an end; .... will be destroyed; all these (16) will come .... will .... and all of [th]em
will, have understanding like (that of) the (heavenly) Watch-ers. (17) 'His deed instead of his voice'
(18)—on that basis will [every one of them] lay his foundation. His ski and his guilt (19) .... his breast
.... holy beings and (heavenly) Watchers (20) .... a saying .... have they said about him. ...
The purport of these lines is anyone's guess. The statement that waters will come to an end (i.e., fail)
accords with eschatological prophecies found elsewhere, so that there is a presumption that what are
here being described are further features of the impending doom. The rest of the text will then depict
the eventual regeneration of mankind, or the reward of the righteous. On the other hand, if-as has been
suggested—the Wondrous Child is Noah rather than any messianic figure, these words may refer to
the end of the Flood. (The rest would still depict the eventual regeneration of men.)
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Notes
The War of the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness
1. Since Cols, xv-xix largely repeat what has been said previously, it is apparent that our present text
of this document really represents a compilation out of two different recensions. They are here
distinguished as A and B respectively.
2. Literally, 'cut off the horn'. For a similar idiom, cp. Lam. 2.3.
3. I.e., the Greeks and their associates; cp. Gen. 10.2-5.
4. The Third Book of the Sibylline Oracles (334-40)-a basically Jewish work written around 140
B.C.—pre-diets a comet before the final disaster.
5. Cp. Isa. 60.20.
6. Jer. 30.7.
7. I.e., for the weeks in the year.
8. This diverges from normal Jewish usage, which recog-nized only 24 courses.
9. According to Num. 1.3, the minimum age for military service was 20 years; in Roman usage, it was
17. In The Manual of Discipline for the Future Congregation of Israel, twenty is regarded as the age of
majority.
10. The war is to last forty years. The release occurs a the end of every seventh year, and lasts for one
year.
11. Cp. Num. 1.3-4.
12. I.e., the children of Aram (Syria), mentioned in Gen. 10.23. (Togar is an error for Gether of the
Scriptural text.)
13. Cp. Gen. 10.23.
14. I.e., the South Arabians; cp. Gen. 25.1-5.
15. Cp. Gen. 10.6-20.
16. The Heb. word for 'enlisted' comes from the same root as that for 'assembly'. For the military
sense, cp. Isa. 13.3, etc.
17. In Hebrew, the word rendered 'enactments' (viz. te'udoth) resembles that for 'meeting' (viz. mo'ed).
18. These words have evidently fallen out of the text.
19. A play on the Biblical expression, 'memorial of the trumpet'; Lev. 23.24. Cp. also Num. 10.10.
20. Literally, 'of the slain', i.e., for giving the signal for slaughter.
21. Literally, 'the mysteries'. The idea is suggested, of course, by the mention of ambush.
22. I.e., withdraws (His troops).
23. A pun on the name Jerusalem, the Hebrew for 'peace' being shalom.
24. Merari was a son of Levi (Ex. 6.16, 19). According to rabbinic legend, the sons of Merari were
entrusted with the transportation of the heavy portions of the Tabernacle, when Israel was wandering
through the wilderness (cp. L. Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, vol. iv [1911], p. 194). In line with this
tradition 'Merari' may here denote the ordnance corps.
25. A crude pun on the name Merari, the Heb. for 'offering' being terumah. If the last two syllables are
read backwards (in Hebrew) they somewhat resemble the first two of Merari!
26. Again a crude pun: 'thousand' is elef; 'God's wrath' is af el.
27. Another pun: 'hundred' is me'ah; 'from' is me'eth.
28. Certain letters of the motto, when combined, spell out the Hebrew word for fifty'. I have tried to
reproduce this in the translation.
29. The ensign of a Roman manipulus included a shield, usually of silver, on which were represented
the images of such warlike deities as Mars or Minerva; and, in Imperial times, of the emperors
(Tacitus, Annals, i.43; Hist., i.41; iv.62) or of their favorites (Suetonius, Tiberius, 48; Caligula, 14).
The specification in our text may have the earlier Roman usage in mind, bat it is clearly influenced
also by Ps. 20.6: 'In the name of our God will we set up our banner(s)'.
30. We do not yet know what the Heb. term employed here really means.
31. The word for 'blade' also means 'flash'.
32. The Heb. for 'javelin' comes from a root which alse means 'spurt'.
33. Literally, 'the holy ones'. But the point is that this was also a term for 'warriors', who were
consecrated for war; cp. Jer. 22.7; 51.27f.
34. Note that later (ix.4) the total attacking force is said to comprise 28,000 men.
35. Literally, 'mild-mouthed'.
36. In the Roman army, service in the cavalry was the privilege of the upper class.
37. In Num. 4.3, fifty is the maximum age for military service; in Roman usage, it was 46.
38. These would correspond to the fabri and similar technicians of the Roman army.
39. Literally, 'gates', but what are meant are the spaces (intervalla) between the massed lines—a
regular feature of Roman military formations.
40. These would correspond to the Roman scutati, opposed to the cavalry (equites); cp. Livy, xxviii, 2.
41. It has been contended that in the days of the Second Temple, priests were not in fact anointed. But
no de-ductions as to the date of our document should be drawn from that fact, for the expression is
purely met aphorical and may therefore be a survival in language from earlier usage. Exactly
comparable is our own ex-pression, 'a blot on the scutcheon'; no one carries scutcheon today.
42. In this section, the author employs a number of technical terms derived from Roman military
strategy Since these would be unintelligible to the layman, have reproduced them by paraphrase. In
identifying them, I have leaned heavily on Yigael Yadin's masterly interpretation.
43. Literally, 'rectangle', i.e., the Roman agmen quad-ratum.
44. I.e., the Roman testudo, a compact mass of troops advancing under cover of their uplifted shields
joined together in the form of a testudo, or tortoise, to protect themselves from the shafts of the enemy.
This formation was also called 'tower' (turns).
45. I.e., the Roman forfex, or 'scissors-formation'.
46. I.e., the Roman cuneus, or 'wedge-formation'.
47. Literally, 'slight flexing of the bow'.
48. I.e., the Roman alae (equitum).
49. Cp. Enoch 40.9-10.
50. This is part of the exhortation ('pep-talk') delivered to the troops before battle, i.e., the Roman
allocutio.
51. Deut. 20.3-4.
52. I.e., solstices and equinoxes.
53. Cp. I Sam. 17.
54. I.e., the seven nations dispossessed by the Israelites when they conquered Canaan.
55. The Hebrew words (necha'e ruah) are usually rendered 'crushed in spirit' (cp. Isa. 66.2). But it is
apparent that our author interpreted them rather from a like-sounding word (nechim) which occurs in
Psalm 35.15 and which the ancient Aramaic version (Targum) indeed understood to mean 'base,
impious'. (The expression is similarly employed in the Hymn of the Initiants.)
56. The restoration is based on Isa. 42.13. Cp. also Ex. 15.3.
57. Literally, 'Thou magnifiest and hallowest Thyself. The phrase is especially significant because it
echoes the opening words of the famous Kaddish-doxology, one of the earliest elements of the Jewish
liturgy. It derives from Ezek. 38.23.
58. Ezek. 38. See the General Introduction, p. 27.
59. The point lies in the double meaning of the word rendered 'holy beings', viz. (a) angels, (b)
warriors; cp. above, note 33.
60. The restoration is based on the necessity of finding a heavenly counterpart to the earthly election of
God's people as His fighting army.
61. The word rendered 'elect' also means 'picked troops' —a usage which occurs already in documents
of the eighteenth century B.C. from Mari, on the Upper Euphrates.
62. Literally, 'lovingkindnesses'. What the writer has in mind, I think, is something like a Roman
Imperial decree imposing peace and promising prosperity.
63. The writer uses the rare Hebrew word heret, which occurs only in Ex. 32.4 with the here
inappropriate sense of 'graving tool'. Perhaps he chose this recondite term to suggest the Latin charta,
somewhat in the sense of 'charter'.
64. Ps. 24.11.; Zech. 14.5.
65. Ibidem; in both passages God is called 'the Mighty One'.
66. Judges 5.12.
67. Ezek. 39.10.
68. Num. 24.18.
69. Gen. 49.8.
70. II Sam. 1.19, 25.
71. Cp. Num. 24.8.
72. Deut. 32.42.
73. Ecclus. 36.14.
74. Jer. 49.32.
75. Cp. Zech. 2.14(10).
76. Ps. 48.12.
77. Isa. 60.11.
78. Isa. 49.23.
79. Isa. 42.11 (read as in the Qumran Scroll of Isaiah, with a slight variation from the standard
[Masoretic] text).
80. Isa. 52.1; Psalms of Solomon, 11.8.
81. Pss. 57.6, 12; 108.6.
82. Cp. Manual of Discipline, iii.13ff.
83. I.e., Thy Law.
84. For the word u-lehagbir in the manuscript, I emend u-lehagbiah.
85. E.g., to renewed vigor. (There is a small gap in the text.)
86. The word is perhaps an imitation of the Latin velites (as if from velox, 'swift'), the light-armed
front-line troops.
87. Cp. the beginning of the Hymn of the Initiants.
88. Cp. Ps. 7.7.
89. See above, n. 1.
90. Cp. Jer. 30.7.
91. This is 'the priest anointed for leading in war'. The office is mentioned in Mishnah, Sotah, VIII, 2,
where he is described as addressing the troops in Hebrew (rather than Aramaic or any other
vernacular). Cp. also Talmud, Yama, 72b, 73a.
92. Or, 'all the structure of their being.
93. Cp. Jer. 25.29.
94. Cp. Num. 10.10.
95. There is perhaps a pun in the original, for the word rendered 'gold' could also mean 'diligent'. The
sense will thus be that the truly adept are tested like gold against dross.
96. Cp. Lev. 10.lff.
97. Michael guards Israel; cp. Dan. 12.1ff.
98. Cp. Isa. 60.19.
99. Literally, 'wave his hand'.
100. I.e., to destroy everything unacceptable and offensive to the God of Israel.
101. Cp. I Chron. 29.11.
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The Rout Of Belial
1. Literally, 'its interpretation at the end of days'—a regular formula when a Scriptural text is
explicated in an eschatological sense.
2. Restored ad sensum; cp. Florilegium, iv.3-4; Analytical Index, D. 1.
3. If this refers to God's consuming fire, cp. Isa. 26.11; 29.9; 30.30; 66.13, etc. Luke 12.49; II Peter
3.10-13; Gospel of Thomas, §9; Pistis Sophia, ch. 141. But it could equally well refer to the
inflammatory teachings of the 'men of Belial'.
4. Probably an allusion to the description of false prophets in Jer. 23.32; Zeph. 3.4.
5. Literally, 'the Lot of Righteousness'; cp. War, xiii.9.
6. Cp. Consolation, 9.
7. Cp. 'Zadokite' Document, ii.9, 13; ix.4-5.
8. Cp. Hymns x.14; xi.29.
9. Restored ad sensum.
10. What Allegro reads tortuously as wnslw (?)—a word barely intelligible—is surely wnslh, 'and it
shall be forgiven'.
11. Cp. 'Zadokite' Document, ii.9; iv.5.
12. The obvious restoration is [hqq], 'engraved', as in Manual, x.l; Hymns i.24. The text must here
have named the mortal to whom the contents of the tablets were imparted for transmission. The
obvious candidate is Enoch; cp. Enoch 68.1; Testament of Simeon, 5.4, etc. But there are also
traditions that the book was originally given to Adam, who gave it to Enoch, who gave it to Noah:
Samaritan Asatir II. 7, 44; L. Zunz, Ges. Schriften (1885), i.13.
13. This probably refers to Enoch's translation to the far ends of the earth; cp. Enoch 12.1; 56.2; 65.2;
Memoirs of the Patriarchs, i.24.
14. The interpretation is suggested, of course, by the sounding of the ram's horn at the original giving
of the Law on Sinai; cp. Exod. 20.13, 16, 19.
15. I.e., repeating the apostasy (in the worship of the Golden Calf) at Sinai.
16. Again with reference to the events at Sinai. The imperfectly preserved verb may perhaps have been
yish-[kehu], 'they will forget'.
17. Allegro takes 'Jacob' to be the subject of the sentence, but this makes no sense, for it is obviously
God who, in the last days, will be 'treading out the winepress where the grapes of wrath are stored'—an
eschatological interpretation of Isa. 63.2. 'Jacob' must therefore be the end of the preceding clause.
Their juice' (Heb. nisham) is restored from Isa. 63.3, 6.
18. Cp. Dan. 11.34. This is, of course, 'the terrible swift sword'; cp. especially Ezek. 21.8, 9, 13; Enoch
50.2; 90.19; 91.12; 95.7.
19. Tentatively I restore: [sa]rah; cp. Dan. 12.1; War, i.12; xv.l—the standard precursor of the final
judgment; cp. especially Manual, viii.1. Not impossibly, our author fancifully connected the Hebrew
word sapiah, 'casual grain, leavings', with mispah in Isa. 5.7, usually interpreted as 'bloodshed' or
'lawlessness'.
20. For this eschatological terminus technicus (derived from Dan. 11.35; 12.10), cp. Commentary on
Psalm 37.15; Florilegium, ii.l; cp. also Manual, xvi.15; xvii.l.
21. Restored on the basis of 'Zadokite' Document, vi.10. Reference to the 'teacher' is peculiarly
appropriate in view of the comparison of the broad masses to children.
22. For the sentiment, cp. Jer. 4.22.
23. For Allegro's ['a]meru, i.e., '[they s]aid', I read: [yisram he]meru, 'they altered their nature, changed
character, bartered their instincts', after Hymns ii.36: They change for wild delusion/folly the sound
nature/ spirit which Thou hast vouchsafed'.
24. In the Manual for the Future Congregation, i.7, the 'Book of Study' (Hgu, or Hgy) is prescribed as
required reading; cp. also 'Zadokite' Document, x.6; xii.2. (The missing verb would have been ma'asu.)
25. This is a tentative supplement, based on the ensuing quotation.
26. The manuscript is here indistinct Allegro reads [l]hl'yn, which certainly seems to be warranted by
the photograph, but which introduces a word unparalleled elsewhere in this form. He connects it with
the Arabic and Nabatean l-'-n, 'curse', i.e., 'hi order to bring a curse upon Israel'. It seems to me,
however, that if the reading is indeed correct, the word might rather be regarded as an artificial coinage
from Heb. la'anah, Vormwood', in the sense of 'poison'. In the Bible that word is used metaphorically
of the perversion of justice and righteousness (Jer. 9.4; 23.15). We might then compare the words
attributed to Jesus in the apocryphal Gospel of the Egyptians (quoted by Clement of Alexandria,
Stromat., iii, 6.1-2); 'Eat every plant, but do not eat the one which contains bitterness'.
27. Cp. Psalms of Solomon, 17.15-16: 'They that loved the synagogues of the pious [i.e., Hasidim] fled
from them like sparrows that fly from their nest. They wandered in deserts, that their lives might be
saved from harm'.
28. The reference is perhaps to Hos. 9.11—but this is sun-ply a guess.
29. The meaning of this musical notation is disputed. Some think it means on an eight-stringed
instrument.
30. I.e., the period which will follow the eschatological 'seventh week (of years)' and which will be
characterized by the reassertion of righteousness and vengeance on the wicked; cp. Enoch 91.12f.;
Testament of Levi, ch. 18.
31. Cp. 'Zadokite' Document, i.18; Hymns ii.15, 32; Commentary on Nahum, ii.7.
32. Restored ad sensum.
33. The Hebrew expression, 'ose ha-yahad, lit. 'who make the commune', sounds a little unusual, but
the photograph seems to warrant this reading, and it is not more odd than the words, we-ye'asu kullam
'aguddah 'ahat, 'and they shall all of them make (i.e., form) one band', in the Standing Prayer ('Amidah)
for the High Holy-days (S. Singer, ed., Authorized Daily Prayerbook [1890], p. 239)—a prayer
believed to be ancient.
34. I restore [sabelu] to vindicate the identification of the pious with the bullocks which the partisans
of Belial have been slaughtering.
35. Cp. Ezek. 20.34f.
36. Restoring: [neg]'ie; cp. Manual, iii.14; Commentary on Habakkuk, ix.11; Hymns xi.8; frag, iii.16,
etc.
37. Cp. Ezek. 20.38; Dan. 11.35; 12.10.
38. See above, n. 31.
39. Restored ad sensum.
40. Cp. Ezek. 21.8. The concluding phrase is perhaps toil be restored [wa-'asher lo' hesi]ru 'orlot 'and
who have not removed the foreskins'—the expression being understood metaphorically, as in Jer. 4.4.
41. See Analytical Index, E. 2 (a).
42. The meaning of the Scriptural verse is disputed; the text may even be corrupt. (NEB resorts to an
ingenious emendation.) Since the word qedoshim, 'holy ones (saints)', is a technical term for celestial
beings (see Analytical Index F. 1 [b]), our author may have taken the words, the qedoshim -which are
on earth, in a very pointed sense, to mean 'the earthly counterparts of the heavenly beings'. In the
succeeding clause, we'addire kol hefsi bam, I think our author took kol absolutely, i.e., 'the general, all
men', and joined it to 'addire rather than to hefsi (i.e., 'all my delight'). In the Biblical context, this was
a protest against the worship of heathen gods, and the verse meant properly, As for those deities
(recognized) in the land, and those who are deemed majestic by all with whom I consort (cp. Arabic
hafaza).
43. Cp. Jer. 33.6.
44. Heb. 'asafsuf means properly, 'camp-followers'; cp. Num. 11.4.
45. Restored from the context. For 'the exponent of the Law', see Analytical Index, B. 2 (a).
46. Literally, 'every man will be at his post'; cp. 'Zadokite' Document, iv.12.
47. The metaphor is taken from the process of refining silver. For the general idea, cp. Manual, iii.24;
Florilegium, i.8. This reflects the Iranian doctrine of the eschatological struggle between the ashovano,
or partisans of Right (Asha) and the dregvato, those of the Lie (Druj); see above, p. 24.
48. Not impossibly, our author fancifully took the Heb. word la-nesah, 'for ever', in the alternative
sense of 'for victory', his interpretation thus conveying the general sense that depressed hearts were
awaiting their eventual triumph.
49. Cp. Dan. 11.35; 12.10; War, xvi.15; xvii.l.
50. If the reading, ]lmim is right, the only possible restoration would seem to be [nich]lamim. This is
based on Ps. 74.21.
51. A possible, but speculative, restoration might be: ['asher lo' yistape]ah li-Beli'al, 'anyone who has
not attached himself to Belial'. For the verb, cp. 'Zadokite' Document, iv.11; Isa. 14.1 (though with the
preposition 'al, not I-); I Sam. 26.19 (with b-). But the repetition of 'Belial' seems clumsy.
52. For the sense, cp. Isa. 6.13.
53. Cp. Hymns iv.12; Florilegium, i.8. Cp. also Hymns ii.17.
54. Cp. Job 18.9.
55. Cp. Manual, iii.24-25. The Angel of Truth is the Hebrew equivalent of the Iranian Asha, who will
aid Ahura Mazdah in the final discomfiture of Angra Mainyu (Ahriman).
56. Cp. Joel 2.20.
57. Cp. Ps. 37C, i.9.
58. See Analytical Index, F. 1 (b, d); 1. Tentatively, I restore [ki' mibtahamoh (cp. Ps. 40.5) or
ma'uzzamoh (cp. Hymns x.23) bi-fel]'ae El u-qedoshaw samu.
59. Cp. Isa. 11.12; 56.8; Ezek. 11.17; Micah 2.12.
60. The translation of this Scriptural verse is a notorious problem; the text is probably corrupt. This,
however, is how our author evidently understood it.
61. See Analytical Index, B. 1.
=======
Weal And Woe: An Exhortation
1. The restoration is, to be sure, but one of several possibilities. At the beginning of line 5 I read
['a]mito (i.e., bene 'amito), and regard the enigmatic ]sh of line 6 as the remnant of some such phrase
as [we'-awonam mi-yadam yebaqqe]sh.
2. Cp. Num. 14.22; Job 19.3; Neh. 4.6.
3. Cp. Dan. 11.15.
4. Cp. I Chron. 29.15; Enoch 46.6.
5. Restoring provisionally, li-[bene 'ashama]h; cp. Hymns v.7; vi.30, viii.11.
6. Cp. Enoch 100.9-10; 102.1. See Analytical Index, F. 7, 8.
7. Cp. Isa. 40.6-8. For the sentiment, cp. also lb., 51.12; Job 8.12, Ps. 103.15.
8. Cp. I Sam. 16.21; II Sam. 17.20; Isa. 41.12; Ezek. 26.21.
9. Restored after I Chron. 29.18; Job 8.7.
10. I read the traces as hkmu; cp. Hymns i.35.
11. Restored from Pss. 105.27; 106.22.
12. Literally, 'His terror'; cp. Isa. 2.19, 21.
13. This expression is common in the Jewish prayer book, e.g., Singer, Authorized Daily Prayerbook
(ed. 1890), pp. 74, 239.
14. Cp. Lam. 3.40.
15. For 'the way to life' cp. Jer. 21.8.
16. Allegro's reading, shama'ti banay yassel, 'I have heard, my children, Let Him deliver', seems too
abrupt to be plausible, and also to be unwarranted by the traces in the manuscript. I read the entire
passage thus: we-lammah tittenu [nafshe]kem li-she'o[l u-besare]kem [li-nega'e mish]pat shama'ti banu
etc. Cp. Hymns x.34. The 'hearing' evidently refers to a revelation; for an exact parallel, cp. Enoch
92.18, 19; 94.1.
17. Cp. Pss. 105.28; 107.11.
18. Cp. Manual, i.13; iii.11.
19. I read the traces as ketubah, rather than, with Allegro, h(?)at(?) imah.
20. Cp. Isa. 30.7-8. The Heb. word could also mean 'engraved', sc. on the Tablets.
21. Restored after Ps. 84.11.
22. Restoring, purely exempli gratia, [ba—boqer'ba-boqer tehi] yir'ato as a contrast to I'tt, which I
interpret as le-'ittot.
23. Cp. Ps. 91.3. The 'fowler's snare' is here the false doctrine of apostatic preachers; cp. Testimonia,
14.
24. For the sentiment, cp. Ps. 139.12; Job 34.22. I restore ad sensum: we-'en hoshek yi[ssate]ru sham
bene' ash-amah.
25. Restoring provisionally hu [yabi (or similar verb) neg]i'o (common spelling in the Scrolls for
nig'eo).
26. For this claim to special knowledge as the basis of an admonition, cp. Enoch 91.5, 93.2; 103.2;
104.10.
27. Restored after Isa. 10.3. Cp. also Enoch 97.3; 102.1.
28. For the sentiment, cp. Ps. 31.20.
29. For this warning against the complacent belief of the wicked that they will be immune from final
judgment, cp. Enoch 106.7.
30. Restoring, [mebaqqe]shah.
31. Restoring tentatively, yanhilah. (Allegro's yekilah, 'will sustain her (!)', makes little sense, and
seems unwarranted by the manuscript.)
32. Cp. similarly, Isa. 45.17.
33. The manuscript is here indistinct. (Allegro's y'al introduces an unparalleled form. I have thought of
ybtl, 'cease, desist', but the traces seem to preclude it.)
34. Literally, '[with heart of] guile', restoring [be-leb] mirmah.
35. Heb. yahzikenah is here used in the post-Biblical sense of the word.
36. The Heb. word can also mean 'blandishments', but, as a parallel to 'guile', better sense is obtained
by deriving it from h-l-q II, 'divide', i.e., 'double-mindedness', than from h-l-q I, 'be smooth'.
37. The manuscript's ttn seems a scribal error for tntn.
38. What we have here is the famous rabbinic doctrine of Zekuth Aboth, the 'merit of the fathers'
(especially the Biblical patriarchs), which constitutes a kind of moral credit with God on which their
descendants can draw: cf. Mishnah, 'Eduyoth, ii.9; Aggadath Bereshith, ch. 10. See fully, S. Schechter,
Aspects of Rabbinic The-ology (1909; reprinted 1961), pp. 170-85; S. Levy, Original Virtue (1907).
39. See above, n. 26.
40. Cp. Gen. 50.15; Hos. 12.15; Ps. 28.4. (I read [yash]ib for the [yash]ub of the editio princeps.)
41. Cp. Prov. 20.27.
42. See above, n. 26.
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The Last Jubilee
1. As elsewhere in the Scrolls, a pious substitute for the ineffable name YHWH in the Scriptural text.
2. For such eschatological interpretations—a leading feature of the 'commentaries' from Qumran—cf.
Comm, on Isaiah, on 5.10; 10.28-32; 30.18; Comm, on Habakkuk, on 2.8, etc.
3. For this sense of Heb. deror cf. Lev. 26.10; Jer. 34.15, 17; Ezek. 46.17. Cp. also Akkadian duraru,
which refers especially to manumission, being written with an ideogram which means properly, 'go
home to mother'.
4. Ps. 84.4; Prov. 26.2. In rabbinic literature the word sometimes denotes a free-flying bird in general,
e.g., TB, Shab. 106a; Tosefta, Nega'im, viii.3.
5. For this concept, cf. Manual, iii.25; xi.7-8; Hymns iii.21; xi.11-12; frag, ii.10; Enoch 6.2; 13.8; 14.3;
101.1. The expression, 'sons of heaven', recurs in Hymns iii.22; frag, ii.10; War, iv.22; xi.8. Note also
that in OT, 'of heaven, celestial' sometimes means 'eternal': A. B. Ehrlich, Mikra ki-feshuto (repr., New
York, 1969), i.378 (on Deut. 33.40).
6. Cf. Deut. 10.9; 18.2; Jos. 13.33; Ezek. 44.28.
7. The same interpretation was given by R. Alexandr(a)i (third cent. C.E.), as quoted by R. Samuel b.
Nahman; cf. Midrash Tanhuma, Be-Har, §1 (on the Law of the Jubilee). Not impossibly, our author
referred the words, 'owner of heaven and earth' (prospectively), to Abraham rather than (actually) to
God.
8. Correspondingly, Heb. hob, 'debt', comes to mean 'sin' (as similarly in the familiar 'forgive us our
debts' in the Lord's Prayer).
9. The concept of the ten 'weeks' of years is developed in Enoch 93; 91.12-17.
10. For this expression, cf. Manual, i.9; ii,16; iii.13, 24, 25; War, passim.
11. J- T. Milik reads: who are in the lot of Mel(?) [chi]zedek, but the manuscript is indistinct.
12. 'Era (Heb. qes)' or 'Season (Heb. mo'ed) of Favor is a technical term in the eschatology of the
Scrolls cf. Hymns xv.15; frag, ix.15; DID I, 34, iii.4-5.
13. Literally, 'holy ones'. For this as a term for celestial beings, cf. Dan. 4, 10, 14, 20, etc.; 'Zadokite'
docu-ment, xx.8; Hymns iii.22; iv.25; x.35; xi.12; War, xii.4, 7, 8; xviii.2; Oration, iv.l; Enoch 39.5;
45.1; 61.12.
14. For the concept that angels execute the final judgment cf. Manual, iv.12; 'Zadokite' Document, ii.6;
War, xiii.12; xiv.10; Hymns iii.35; Enoch 53.3; 56.1; 62.11; 100.4; TB Shab, 88a, etc.
15. Cp. Heb. 4.7 ('saying in David'). For the designation of the Psalter as 'the songs of David', cf. the
conclu-sion of the Qedushah in the Sabbath Morning Service of the Synagogue: Singer (ed. 1890), p.
138. (In point of fact, the psalm here quoted is not ascribed to David.)
16. Literally, gods. For 'gods' = 'celestial beings, angels', cf. Liturgy of the Angels (b), 5, 7; Hymns
x.8; frag. iii.3, 10; War, i.10, 11; xiv.15, 16; xv.14; xvii.7; Ora-tion, iv.l.
17. The words, 'return thou on high', are usually referred to God; our author refers them to Israel,
which is bid den to return to its patrimony, as men did at the peril-odic jubilee. (Although the point is
irrelevant to our author's exegesis, it may be suggested that the words We-'aleha la-marom subah, in
the traditional text are really a misvocalization of the original We-'aleh Ia-marom sºbeh, 'go up in
triumph [lit. to the height] with captives in Thy train'—for which expression cf. Ps. 68.19).
18. I.e., from r-s-h II (Lev. 26.41; Isa. 40.2).
19. For this expression, cf. War, i.5; iv.2; xii.4.
20. In the context of a judicial tribunal, the word 'show defiance' (viz. ha-mamerim) immediately
suggests the technical expression, 'defiant elder (zaqen mamreh)' applied in Mishnah, Sanhedrin 11.1
to one such who refuses to abide by the rulings of the supreme court and is therefore sentenced to
execution. The words may therefore be read as a polemic against what were deemed the apostatic
priests in Jerusalem. At the end of the sentence I restore le-'a[wweth mispat], after Ps. 146.9, Job
34.12, rather than la-'a[soth ris'ah], 'to commit wickedness', as proposed by Milik.
21. The expression derives from Isa. 61.3, but the words 'ele sedeq, which in the Scriptural context
mean 'terebinths (sturdy oaks) of righteousness', are fancifully interpreted as 'angels [lit. gods] of
righteousness'. The Targum in loc. renders similarly, 'chieftains'.
22. The text is indistinct. It seems, to my eyes, to read: [ ]id '[ ] Beli'al, which I would tentatively
restore: [yasm]id 'E[l 'adat(?)] Belial, after Manual, iv.19; v.19; Hymns xiv.16. On the ultimate defeat
of Belial, see Analytical Index, E. 2 (i).
23. The text is again indistinct. Accepting Milik's reading, whp[ ], I would restore we-hape[quddah].
This too is a technical term in the eschatology of the Scrolls; cf. Manual, iii.18; iv.19; 'Zadokite'
Document, vii.21; xix.10, etc.; Comm, on Isa. 5.10. The expression derives from Isa. 10.3; Hos. 9.7;
Micah 7.4. Here it would also echo the employment of the corresponding verb in Lev. 26.16—part of
the commination which follows on the Law of the Jubilee.
24. The subsequent quotation from Isa. 52.7, where the similar word salom (peace) is interpreted in
this sense, shows that we must here restore ha-[sillum], rather than ha-[haregah], 'of slaughter', as
proposed by Fitz-myer and others, on the basis of Hymns xv.17 (derived from Jer. 12.3). For the
expression, 'Day of Retribution', cf. Deut. 32.33 (according to LXX, Samaritan and a fragment from
Qumran itself); Hos. 9.7. In the latter passage the term stands parallel to 'days of visitation' (pequdah),
thus supporting my res-toration of that word at the beginning of the sentence.
25. Provisionally, I follow Milik's restoration.
26. The text reads, indistinctly and defectively, Dn[ ]. Milik ingeniously restores this to read Dan[iel],
and then finds the appropriate quotation in Dan. 9.26. This has the added advantage of providing
another 'support' ('asmakta) from the Holy Writings, among which the Book of Daniel is reckoned in
the Hebrew Bible. Not impossibly, however, the initial letter which Milik reads as D is really the
vestige of H, in which case we may restore Hn[wk], i.e., Enoch, and find the relevant passage in Enoch
91.15; '... in the tenth week (of years), in the seventh part thereon there will occur the great eternal
judgment, when He will execute judgment in company with (or, upon) the angels'. Enoch, it may be
added, is similarly cited in the pseudepigraphic Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs; Simeon, 5.4;
Levi, 10.5; Dan., 5.6; Naphtali, 4.1; Benjamin, 9.1.
27. Cf. Isa. 37.18.
28. For this concept, cf. Analytical Index, E. 1-2. (I read here: be-kol qisse ha-'o[lam] be-'emeth le'i[ttim, o la'eth (ba'-eth; cf. Manual, viii.19)]).
29. The word sarah is here a noun, meaning 'defection', as in Isa. 1.5; 31.6. It counterbalances the
previous reference to 'turning away (defecting) from God's statutes'. The sequel shows that the
subsequent clause, which is torn away in the manuscript, must have said, en revanche, something
about the restitution of the reign of righteousness (or, of God). These two contrasting statements are
made in exposition of a Scrip rural text the words of which are no longer preserved in our tattered
fragment. It may perhaps be suggested —though admittedly, as no more than a shot in the dark—that,
since our author has been drawing heavily on Isaiah, ch. 61, the words in question were those of v.3:
'(The Lord has sent me) ... to give them sashes [lit. garlands; Heb. pe'er] in place of ashes (Heb.
'epher)'.
30. For this expression (corresponding to the Iranian ashovano), cf. Manual, iii.20, 22; ix.4.
31. Cf. Jer. 34.18; Manual, v.21f.; viii.10; 'Zadokite' Document, xv.6. In Lev. 26.15f., part of the
commination which follows on the Law of the Jubilee, the visitation of God is threatened on those who
abrogate the Covenant.
32. The expression derives from Isa. 8.11. It recurs in 'Zadokite' Document, viii.16; xix.29.
33. This interpretation can only be inferred, since the text is incomplete. For the royal fanfare, cf. Ps.
47.8 (still recited in the service of the synagogue before the first blowing of the ram's horn at New
Year); Num. 23.21; Ps. 98.6.
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The New Covenant
1. The word b'dy of the original text is clearly an error for b'dny (or b'dn).
2. Restoring le-he[rawo]th; cf. Isa. 34.7; Ps. 23.5.
3. Cp. Isa. 43.3.
4. Cp. Gen. 1.14-18.
5. Cp. Ecclus. 42.23; 43.10.
6. Literally, 'understood'.
7. A technical expression for the future age; cp. War, xv.15; frag. ix.8.
8. Cp. Ex. 24.16-17.
9. Literally, 'fundaments, rudiments'. The word is used in Samaritan to denote the elemental hosts that
were believed to be present at the revelation on Mount Sinai. Our author, however, employs the term
in a somewhat different sense, implying that the essence of God's glory and the lofty eminences of
eternity were then made manifest to Israel. (We must read YeSODe, not YiSSuRe, since the word is
contrasted with Ma'aLe, i.e., 'foundations' with 'heights'.)
10. I.e., a new Moses. The lawgiver was known in later Jewish literature as 'the faithful shepherd'; cp.
Ex. 3.1. Cp. also John 10.14.
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I. The Messianic King
1. This was the way in which many of the ancient interpreters explained the baffling Hebrew word
Shiloh, which can here scarcely denote the place of that name. They took it as the equivalent of shelo,
'whose', i.e, he whose it is.
2. Literally, 'sovereign, wielder of sovereignty'.
3. Literally, 'the occupant'.
4. These words have been inserted in order to clarify the sense for English readers. The Hebrew word,
hoq, 'statute', is frequently conjoined in the Old Testament with berith, 'covenant', e.g., II Kings 17.15;
Pss. 50.16. 105.10. For a similar interpretation of the Scriptural verse, cp. 'Zadokite' Document, vi, 3
(above, p. 73).
5. Cp. II Sam. 7.11-16; Ps. 89.3-4, 29, 36.
6. This interpretation is based on the fact that the ex-pression, 'that which issues from between the feet'
is used in Deut. 28.57 as a euphemism for 'progeny' The ancient Greek and Aramaic versions
understood our passage in the same way.
7. Cp. Jer. 23.5; 33.15; Zech. 3.8; 6.12.
8. There is a small gap in the text. As an approximate restoration, I read: shmrh [YHWH bkol hdorot
wg]mrh (or, [wn]srh?) 'm anshe hyhd. Cp. II Sam 23.5. For the general sense, cp. Luke 1.69, 72.
9. It is interesting to find in the Hebrew the same word (knst), the Syriac cognate of which was later
adopted by the Christians to designate their own communion.
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II. Testimonia,- Proof-Texts Of The Messianic Era
A. The Commitment And The Promise
1. Written in archaic script.
2. The received (Masoretic) text reads, 'I have heard'.
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C. The Star Of Jacob
3. Literally, 'he whose eye is perfect'. The received (Masoretic) text contains the unique Hebrew word
satam, of uncertain meaning. Our author substituted for it the 'correction', shehatem, in line with
several ancient interpreters.
4. Literally, 'knowledge, lore'.
5. The passage is cited again in a Messianic sense in 'Zadokite' Document, vii, 19 (above, p. 76) and in
War, xi, 6-7 (p. 413). The same interpretation appears also in the ancient Aramaic Versions
(Targumim) and was adopted by many Jewish expositors. 6 The Scriptural text reads: 'It shall smite
the brow of Moab and batter all the children of Sheth'. The latter term properly denoted the Shutu, an
early nomadic tribe. But our author evidently identified it with the Hebrew word sh'eth, 'uproar', thus
giving the verse a wider sense. The same interpretation was adopted by Jeremiah (48.45); see above, p.
110, n. 33. Not impossibly, the same Moab was likewise interpreted in a larger sense by being
connected with the word 'oyeb, 'enemy'—a fanciful interpretation suggested also by several ancient
Jewish commentators.
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D. The Role Of The Priest
7. This follows the text of the Greek (Septuagint) Version. The word is missing in the received Jewish
(Masoretic) recension.
8. Heb. singular, i.e., 'Levi', and so throughout
9. Heb. 'Thine Urim and Thy Thummim'—emblems of the high priest. But the words were anciently
interpreted as plurals of 'or, 'light' and torn, 'perfection', and it is in this extended sense that our author
evidently understood them. Indeed, the compound term, Or-Tom was coined by the Brotherhood to
denote the peculiar 'illumination' which they claimed; see above, p. 21.
10. Heb. 'whom Thou didst test at Massah'. It has long been pointed out by commentators that there is
in fact nothing about the incident at Massah recorded in Ex. 17.5-7 to connect it specifically with a
testing of the levites. The word, however, itself means 'testing', and it is therefore probable that our
author—and perhaps even the original writer—intended it only as a common noun and not as a placename.
11. Heb. 'with whom Thou didst contend (enter suit) by the waters of Meribah'. Here, again, there is no
ostensible relationship between the incidents at Meribah recorded in Ex. 17.5-7 or Num. 20.3, 13, 24
and any trial of the levites. The word, however, means simply 'contention, suit', so that here too it is
probable that the author intended it only as a common noun, in which case he would be referring
figuratively to trial by waters of ordeal (cp. Num. 5.17).
12. The Masoretic text and the Ancient Versions read, 'They shall teach (Heb. yoru) Thy judgments to
Jacob'. But in changing this to the very similar Hebrew word (ya'iru) meaning 'they shall bring the
light', our author is not merely blundering; he is harking back to the allegorical interpretation of 'Thine
Urim' in the preceding lines; see above, n.9.
13. In the Scriptural context, these lines refer to the sacrificial functions of the levites. Here, however,
they are understood in a figurative sense: obedience to the Torah (Law) is equivalent to setting a
pleasant savour in the nostrils of God, and wholehearted devotion to the presentation of a whole burnt
offering upon His altar.
14. Written in archaic script.
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E. The Discomfiture Of The Impious
15. A Jewish tradition, hitherto known only from later sources, says that the Alenw-prayer, one of the
most prominent elements of the liturgy (S. Singer, Authorized Daily Prayerbook, p. 76), was
composed by Joshua upon entering the Holy Land, and the 'Al ken nekavveh, which now serves as its
continuation, after Achan had confessed his guilt respecting the appropriation of forbidden booty after
the sack of Jericho (Jos. 7.1-26). Joshua is said also to have intoned a lengthy hymn of praise after
defending the Gibeonites (Sepher ha-Yashar, 135b-136a), and is likewise credited with the authorship
of the Second Benediction in the traditional Grace after Meals (Talmud, Berachoth, 48b). Samaritan
tradition similarly attributes to him one of the cardinal prayers of the Defter (i.e., Greek diphthera,
'codex'), the earliest element of the liturgy (A. E. Cowley, The Samaritan Liturgy [1909], pp. 4f.);
while in the mediaeval Samaritan-Arabic Book of Joshua, several prayers by that hero are interspersed
in the narrative. Fragments of hymns (or psalms) attributed to Joshua have indeed been found at
Qumran.
16. The Masoretic text adds, 'even Jericho'. Our author omits the words in order to accommodate the
Scriptural passage to the rebuilding of Jerusalem!
17. Cp. Hos. 9.8; Ps. 91.3.
18. In Gen. 49.5 the expression, 'instruments of violence' is used in connection with the brothers
Simeon and Levi. Hence, the reference here would most naturally be to a pair of brothers, but precisely
who cannot yet be determined with certainty. Allegro ingeniously suggests that the reference is to
Aristobulus II and Hyrcanus II, the two sons of Alexander Jannaeus, to the latter of whom Caesar
indeed gave permission, in 47 B.C., to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem (Josephus, Ant., XIV, 8.5; 10.5;
War, I, 10.3). Alternatively, we may perhaps think of Phasael and Herod, sons of Antipater, who were
appointed by their father governors of Jerusalem and Galilee respectively (Josephus, Ant., XIV, 9.2)
and later (43 B.C.) by Mark Antony as tetrarchs in charge of the public affairs of the Jews (ib., XIV,
13.1). The reference to the building of the walls and towers of Jerusalem might then allude more
specifically to Herod's repair of the walls and erection of the towers of Hippicus, Phasael and
Mariamne after he had become king of Judaea in 30 B.C. The 'man of Belial' would, in this case, be
either Antipater or Mark Antony.
19. This would be consonant with the fact that Phasael governed Jerusalem and its vicinity, and Herod
the territory of Galilee. The former, the eldest son of Antipater, committed suicide after falling into the
hands of the Parthian allies of Antigonus, last king of the Hasmoneans (Josephus, Ant., XIV, 13.10),
while Herod was eventually afflicted by severe disease and a kind of madness, which Josephus (Ant.,
XVII, 6.5; War, I, 38.5) attributes to the vengeance of God. Thus, the curse of Joshua 6.26 (as our
author understood it) may be said to have been fulfilled in their fate. It is true that Herod was not the
youngest son of Antipater, as a strict application of the Scriptural text might seem to require, but the
Hebrew word rendered 'lastborn' literally means no more than 'younger' and could therefore quite
properly be referred to Herod ass the junior of Phasael.
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III. A 'Messianic1 Florilegium
1. The traditional Jewish (Masoretic) text reads in the plural, 'sons of perversity'.
2. Literally, 'a sanctuary of man'. Some scholars have thought that this means a man-made sanctuary
(temple), in contrast to that which God's own hands are said to have established. But the true,
metaphorical meaning is apparent on comparison with Manual, ix.6 (above, p. 63). The same
sentiment is to be found in I Cor. 3.16-17 and in Eph. 2.19-22.
3. The 'stumbling blocks' are part of the eschatological picture painted in the Bible itself: cp. Dan.
11.33-34; Mal. 2.4-9.
4. Cp. Manual, i.23-24 (above, p. 45); 'Zadokite' Document, iv.13, 15; xii.2 (above, pp. 71, 85); War,
passim.
5. The traditional (Masoretic) text has 'made', but our reading agrees with that of the Greek
(Septuagint) Version; cp. also II Sam. 7.13; Ps. 89.5.
6. The verse is quoted in the same sense in Heb. 1.5.
7. Cp. 'Zadokite' Document, vi.11 (above, p. 73); Com-mentary on Habakkuk, 1.5; 2.2, 4 (above, pp.
318, 321f.). The (priestly) 'Expounder of the Law' and the 'Scion of David' constitute the two future
'messiahs' or 'anointed ones'.
8. In 'Zadokite' Document, vii.16 (above, p. 75), the 'fallen booth of David' is taken to connote the
neglected Law (Torah).
9. This meaning is obtained by a different vocalization of the Hebrew word usually rendered,
'instructed me, reproved me'.
10. Note that, in popular speech, 'Israel' denoted the laity, in contradistinction to the priests and levites.
11. Cp. Manual, v.2; 'Zadokite' Document, iv.l (above, pp. 51, 70). This title of the priests derives from
Ezek. 40.46; 43.19, etc.
12. These words could also be rendered (but less probably), 'who seek their own counsel', i.e.,
interests.
13. The future 'Anointed One' (Messiah) is likewise styled 'the Elect' in the Book of Enoch.
14. A standard eschatological epoch in the doctrine of the Scrolls; it is based on Dan. 11.35; 12.10. Cp.
also Mal. 3.23.
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IV. The Wondrous Child
1. Cp. in this sense: Greek phakos (Plutarch, U.563A; 800B); phakodes (Hippocr., Epid., iii.1090);
phakosis (Hephaest, Apotel., p. 18); Latin lenticula (Pliny, HN, 20, ii.4, 5); lentigo (Pliny, HN, 30, ii.5a term still used in medicine for a kind of rash); Italian lentigine.
2. This restoration is suggested by Fitzmyer. It can be supported by the fact that Moses was likewise
said to have first displayed his precocity in his third year; cp. Josephus, Ant., iii.9, 6-7; Philo, Vita
Mosis i.5; L. Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, V. 401, n. 64. The same is said of Jesus in the apocryphal
Gospels of Thomas and of Matthew. In Jewish popular tradition, a child was not considered fully
weaned until after two years. The successive stages of the Wondrous Child's development are similarly
denned in Vergil's Fourth Eclogue, 13f., 17f., 26f., 37f.
3. Cp. Isa. 7.15, 16.
4. Lit., knows.
5. The identity of 'the three books' has proved a puzzle. Carmignac suggests that they may be the Book
of Study [Hgw] mentioned in 'Zadokite' Document, X.6; xiii.2, together with the Manual of Discipline
and the 'Zadokite' Document. But (a) Did all these documents exist together at the time our text was
composed?
(b) Was the Wondrous Child a Qumranite, who had to be reared in what were, after all, manuals for a
sect 'preparing the way' for his advent? Fitzmyer thinks the reference is general, not specific, i.e., to
apocalyptic books such as the 'books of the living' in Enoch 47.3 or the 'heavenly tablets' mentioned ib.
81.1-2; Jubilees 30.22. This, however, I find unconvincing because, as I read the text, the three books
are something which the average man has to master in order to be educated, but with which the
Wondrous Child will be able to dispense. The books cited by Fitzmyer are, on the other hand,
heavenly books to which the average mortal would not have access. Need the number 'three' be taken
literally? My rendering presumes that no more is intended than 'two or three textbooks'. (The definite
form of the noun would mean simply 'the usual [standard]' textbooks.)
6. Reading hzyn and 'rkwbt\h\vri\. (I am not assuming that the incomplete verb was [ytkn]swn,
because the text has ]sn, not ]swn. My restoration is simply ad sensum.)
7. Restoring ad sensum, something like: wbabwhy wbabhtwhy y[tqp w'mhwn 'ark] hyn wzqynh.
8. Borrowed from I Kings 4.29-31 (of Solomon).
9. Heb. msrt, which can derive either from s-r-'/y, 'be rank, foetid, disgusting', or from s-w-r, 'defect,
turn aside'.
10. Probably also in the sense of inspiration.
11. I take these words to refer to God (an adjectival clause), not to the Wondrous Child; cp. Isa. 11.3.
12. This expression recurs in 'Zadokite' Document, vi.-15; xiii.14; cp. also Jubilees 10.3; 15.26; John
17.12; II Thess. 2.3; Gospel of Nicodemus 20; Apoc. Peter, Akhmim frag., §2. The reference could be
either to the rebel 'angels' of Gen. 6.1—4 or—I think more probably—to the generation of the Flood.
In favor of the latter is the specific use of the same word, 'corrupt', in Gen. 6.11-12.
13. Cp. Gen. 23.34; Ezek. 4.9. This is the modern Arab mujedderah, a compound of lentils, onions,
and rice stewed in olive oil. For the general idea, cp. Isa. 5.6; 7.23-24.
14. Restoring, ytbyn dy l[hwn].
15. Cp. Isa. 3.8.
16. It is not clear whether these words refer to calamities or to 'angels of destruction' who will come to
execute judgment; cp. Manual, iv.12; 'Zadokite' Document, ii.6; War, xiii.12; xiv.10; Enoch 53.3;
56.1; TB Shab-bath 88a; etc.
17. A class of celestial beings mentioned in Daniel, Enoch, etc. and, at Qumran, in the 'Zadokite'
Document and The Memoirs of the Patriarchs; see T. H. Gaster, in IDE, s.v. Watcher.
18. This sounds to me like a proverbial tag, 'Deeds, not words'. (The singular possessive suffix in the
following 'his foundation' will be distributive, i.e., we should restore something like: [klhwn] yswdh
'Iwhy ysdwn. The suffix in 'Iwhy ['thereupon'] will refer to the maxim.) A contrasting idiom occurs in
Enoch 94.6.
19. E.g., 'will vanish, be purged', cp. Enoch 107.1.
20. E.g., '[they will be like] any holy being or (like) the Watchers' (see above, n. 17).
7 - Virtue (The Wooing of Wisdom)
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Introduction
At the end of Ecclesiasticus (or The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach), in the Apocrypha of the Old
Testament, there is a curious poem (51.13ff.) in which the author describes how he pursued and
cultivated wisdom and exhorts his readers to do the same. In the Ancient Versions (on which the
conventional English translations are based) and likewise in the Hebrew paraphrase discovered, at the
close of the nineteenth century, in the Cairo Genizah, the tone of this poem is somewhat solemn and
priggish, resembling nothing so much as one of those polite moralistic 'recitations' which Victorian
school children were encouraged to inflict on their captive parents and friends at the annual prizegiving ceremonies.
Qumran, however, has brought a surprise. Included in what has come to be known as the Psalms
Scroll—really, a more extensive liturgical compendium—is a portion of the same poem in its original
form, and it there appears as a series of artful double-entendres (1) (composed as an alphabetical
acrostic) each of which possesses an erotic as well as a moralistic sense. To be sure, the thing is no
Kama Sutra or Ovidian Ars Amatoria but still an edifying piece of exhortation-else it could never
have found place in the liturgical repertoire of a community of ascetics—and the author therefore
takes care to point out that, for all his ardor, he did indeed observe the proprieties. Nevertheless, the
imagery is far more sexual than has hitherto appeared.
(a) The poet begins by saying that already in his childhood, before he had 'gone a-roving', he went in
quest of Wisdom, and whenever he gained access to her, he explored her shapely form 'to the (lit. her)
limit'. Here is referring, on the one hand—with a sly erotic undertone
—to a children's game like our own 'blind man's buff', (2) in which the 'catch' is identified by 'feel',
and on the other
—in a less sensual vein—to searching for Wisdom and studying it, or to praying for it and obtaining
it, the words 'seek' (b-q-sh) and 'explore' (d-r-sh) being also technical terms for these more innocent
pursuits. Moreover, the allusion to 'going a-roving' bears the double sense of leave-ing home and of
straying from the path of virtue.
(b) Then, he continues, during his own adolescence, when the comely lass had blossomed into
womanhood-, 'when the buds became berries and the grapes grew ripe and luscious'—he still kept
company with her, but, because he had known her from childhood, he kept to the straight and narrow
and did not let himself be swept off his feet The relationship was strictly platonic; he enjoyed and
profited from her companionship and conversation (dulce loquentem Lalagen amabo, dulce ridentem).
The doublet entendre, however, again obtrudes itself: what he ob-tained from her is described by the
Hebrew word, leqah, which means at once 'learned discourse' and 'captivating charms'.
(c) In the succeeding stage the lady served him virtually as a nursing mother (Heb. 'alah): he drank in
Wisdom The fusion of erotic and moralistic nuances is, however again apparent, and the image is
admirably illustrated both by the famous remark of Juliet's nurse, 'Were I not thine only nurse/I would
say thou hadst sucked wisdom from thy teat', (3) and by the philological connection of the word
'sapience' and 'sap'. (4)
For this benefit, adds our author, he duly 'rendered his meed of hod to his tutor'. The phrase is derived
from Prov 5.9, which warns, en revanche, against forfeiting that quality by consorting with loose
women. Normally mean ing 'honor, dignity', it here bears the added nuance of 'thanks' (like the postBiblical hoda'ah, which is indeed substituted for it in the Genizah paraphrase), and it is no impossibleseeing that Greek was a second vernacular in Palestine at the time when the Dead Sea Scrolls were
composed—that it carries also the nuance of the Greek time, 'honor', in the specific sense of
'remuneration paid to a teacher', i.e., 'honorarium'.
(d) Next comes the awakening of sexual desire. The poet has now 'acquired a zest for pleasure'-a stage
expressed by words which bear at the same tune the more innocent meaning of 'developing a zeal for
goodness'. He plans to 'take his fun without ever turning back' (or, according to a variant reading in
the Versions and the Cairo paraphrase, 'unabashedly'). He becomes inwardly 'on fire' for the lady, and
pursues her unremittingly. He perseveres in quest of her favors, the Hebrew word which is employed,
viz. tar<ah>tl, (5) denoting at once the assiduous pursuit of his amours and—again more
innocently—painstaking absorption in study. He does not 'keep lolling on her heights' —an
exquisitely chosen expression suggesting, on the one hand, a supine indolence like that of the amorous
goatherds in the Idylls of Theocritus or the Eclogues of Vergil and, on the other, a lingering on the
rarefied heights where Wisdom dwells (cp. Sirach 24.4), i.e., a preoccupation with philosophical
abstractions in preference to practical application.
(e) The poet then declares, 'My hand opened [her gates]'. (6) On the literal and erotic level, the
reference is, of course, to breaking down her defenses. The metaphor is taken from a military assault
on a city, and is pertinently illustrated by the familiar lines of Ovid: ille (miles) graves urbes, hic
(amans) durae limen amicae/ Obsidet; hic portas frangit, at ille fores (Soldiers lay siege to firmdefended cities; lovers to the thresholds of hard-hearted ladyloves. The one breaks down gates; the
other, doors). (7) On the figurative level, however, the words obviously refer to eventual entry into the
penetralia of Wisdom, as contrasted with mere superficial dalliance on the periphery. (8)
The phrase is followed by words which describe the Poet's intent (see below), viz. 'that I might
perceive her hidden secrets'. These words too contain a patent double-entendre. Every adult male
(except, perhaps, a superannuated theologian) knows what they mean on the literal level. Figuratively,
however, the reference is to fathoming Wisdom au fond, the same expression recurring in the Hebrew
text of Sirach 42.18, where the writer speaks of God's 'perceiving the hidden secrets' of men's hearts.
(f) A strange note is now sounded. After thus describing rather starkly his aggressive pursuit of more
intimate intercourse with his beloved, the poet suddenly observes, 'I kept my hands clean'. Apparently,
the moralistic intent of his discourse now takes over completely. He loses his erotic nerve, and his
frankness deserts him, for from this point on—as the extant sequel in the Versions attests-the piece
peters out into a pious exhortation. For this reason it seems to me that the verb should be understood
as a pluperfect, i.e., '(Nevertheless) I had kept my hands clean', and that in the preceding clause the
correct translation is (as given above), 'that I might perceive her hidden secrets', rather than 'I
perceived' them, thus indicating intent rather than performance. As John Donne put it, 'If ever beauty I
did see,/which I desired and got, 'twas but a dream of thee'. (9)
As observed above, the Ancient Versions and the Hebrew paraphrase discovered in the Cairo Genizah
(10) bowdlerize the erotic nuances of our poem. By less sensual interpretation of the terms used, the
allusion to the physical exploration of Lady Wisdom's contours in a childhood game of blind man's
buff becomes a reference to seeking and finding her, in early youth, through prayer and intellectual
study; while the passage which describes her as suckling her devotee is grotesquely distorted—one
might say that the milk runs dry—by interpreting the word for 'nurse', viz. 'alah, as though it were a
noun (otherwise unattested) from the root '-l-h, 'ascend, advance', bearing the sense (akin to the
rabbinic 'illui, 'advanced student, genius') of making progress in studies! Similarly, instead of planning
to 'take his fun' with her, the poet merely for the lady in a more innocuous vein, and instead of being
'on fire' for her, he grapples with her intellectually, the relevant verb being twisted into the sense
which it bears in the reflexive conjugation. The ardent amorous pursuit and the reference to 'not
lolling on her heights'-a phrase which may also possess a sexual connotation-are likewise toned down,
as is also the desire to 'contemplate her hidden parts'. In a word, Mrs. Grundy, that obtrusive
chaperone, has the situation well in hand.
***
In the following translation, I have tried especially, even at the risk of paraphrastic license, to bring
out the form and flavor, and particularly the sustained double-entendre of this basically merry poem.
Without the latter, the whole piece falls flat.
=======
Notes
1. On double-entendre as a feature of Old Testamen and Arabic poetry see: E. Konig, Stilistik,
Rhetorik, Poetik (1900), pp. 10-12; J. Finkel in Joshua Starr Memorial Volume (1963), pp. 32ff.
2. On the antiquity of this game see: Alice B. Gomme The Traditional Games of England, Scotland
and Ire land (1894-98), ii.37ff.; W. W. Newell, Games and Songs of American Children (repr. 1963),
No. 108
3. Wm. Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, I, iii.71-72.
4. See: R. B. Onians, The Origins of European Though About the Body, etc. (1951), pp. 51ff.
5. For this emendation, see below n. 9 to the translation ,6. The text is incomplete and is here restored
from the Genizah paraphrase.
7. Ovid, Amores, I.ix, 18-20. A similar imagery under lies John Suckling's well-known poem, The
Siege (R. Aldington, ed., The Viking Book of Poetry [1941], pp. 416f.).
8. See also n. 10 to the translation.
9. The Good Morrow, lines 6-7.
10. The Genizah text is not the author's original. It seems to have been based largely on the Syriac
Version.
=======
The Wooing Of Wisdom (Sirach 51.13fl)
1(13) Already in early childhood,
ere I had roved astray,
I used to seek-her-and-find-her
in games of childish play;
2(14) But I read her lines to the limit
whenever she came my way. (1)
3(15) Came the time when the buds turned to berries,
when the grapes grew luscious and round; (2)
{4} Due to our childhood friendship,
I kept my feet on the ground. (3)
5(16) Even when only lightly
my ear unto her I inclined,
charm and learning (4) a-plenty
readily did I find.
6(17) Feverishly what she gave me
like mother's milk I drank, (5)
and never was I unmindful
my tutor to honor and thank. (6)
7(18) Gripped by a passion for pleasure
at last, 'I will take my fun',
thought I, 'and never turn backward
when once I have begun!' (7)
8(19) Heated like fire I became; (8)
my face never turned away:
{9} I grew busy, (9) and on the uplands
lolled not the livelong day.
{10} [Kept shut though they were,] I forced open
her gates, (10) having only in mind
to set my eyes on the treasures
which surely lay hidden behind. (11)
11(20) [Lusty enough was my ardor,]
yet clean did I keep my hands; (12)
23b(30) duly get your reward. (13)
=======
Notes
1. Literally, (When) I was but a child, I used to go looking for her; (when) she came to me in her
shapely form, I would search her out to the/her limit. The primary reference is, I think, to a game of
blind man's buff; for the figurative sense, cp. Sirach 4.12. The allusion to 'roving' likewise bears a
double sense: in I Kings 3.7, the characteristic of a child is that it does know 'to go out and come in',
but for roving in search of wisdom, cp. Sirach 34.11; 39.4. 'Look for' (b-q-sh) is also a technical term
for 'petition in prayer' (e.g., TB, Ber. 16b) and 'search out' (d-r-sh) for 'study'. Not impossibly, the
phrasing also carries a legalistic connotation, for 'come to' is an expression used of securing a claim:
cp. Gen. 43.23; Num. 32.19; and see Y. Muffs, in Gaster Festschrift (1973), pp. 287ff. The words, to
her limit, are a clever variation on the colloquial to the end, in the sense of 'utterly', as in Dan. 4.8, 19;
6.27. Cp. similarly Greek eis telos, LXX Gen. 46.4; Amos 9.8.
2. The phrasing derives from Gen. 40.10: 'as soon as it (sc. the vine) budded, it blossomed and its
clusters ripened into grapes' (NEB). The word here rendered, turned to berries, is g-r-', which occurs
in this technical sense in Mishnah, Sheb. iv. 10. For 'bud' in the figurative sense, cp. Catullus xvii.14:
cum sit viridissimo nupta flore puella and Ellis' note; ib., lxii.46. Cp. also Song of Songs 7.8 and a
modern Palestinian Arab folksong cited in G. Dalman, Palastinensischer Diwan (1901), p. 239. Cp.
also John Gay's Ads and Galatea, where a young girl is described as 'ripe as the melting cluster'. Note
too that in Greek, omphax, 'unripe grape', is used of a girl who has not yet reached maturity. (In light
of such parallels, it is plain that the words refer to the girl, not to her suitor, as supposed in the editio
princeps!) For 'luscious' the Hebrew has, that rejoice the heart'—a phrase derived from Ps. 104.15.
3. Literally, Because I had known her since my childhood, my foot trod on level ground, i.e., I did not
let myself be 'swept off my feet'. In place of yedi'tiha, 'I had known her', the Versions seem to have
read re'itiha, I had cultivated/been friends with her'. The same error appears in the Masoretic text of
Hos. 13.5.
4. The Hebrew word, leqah, means both 'learning, lesson, discourse' and 'captivating ways'; for the
latter, cp. Prov. 7.21; Sirach 26.9 (LXX); and v. D. W. Thomas, in 'Wisdom in Israel and the Ancient
Near East' (Rowley Festschrift, VTS 3[1955]), p. 284.
5. Literally, 'She was/became a wetourse unto me'. For a variation on the metaphor cp. Sirach 15.2-3.
What is implied in general is a kind of Abelard-and-Heloise situation, though the lady is here the
teacher.
6. The word for 'my tutor' is in the masculine gender, although the specific reference is to Wisdom
portrayed as a woman. Hence it is apparent that the poet is quoting a popular tag.
7. Or, according to the Versions and the Cairo Hebrew paraphrase: Gripped by a passion for pleasure/
'I will take my pleasure', thought I,/ 'now at long last and no longer/ continue bashful (and shy)!' The
difference rests on reading the Hebrew word, 'a sh u b, by transposition of letters, as 'ebosh. A similar
variation exists in the texts of Sirach 42.1. (The Masoretic text of Ps. 25.3 is possibly to be corrected
in the same way.)
8. Heb. hariti. The Versions gave to the verb the sense which it bears in the reflexive conjugation, viz.,
Vie, grapple with'.
9. The manuscript reads t-r-t-i, which makes no sense. My emendation, t-r<h>-t-i, is based on the
antithetical sh-l-h, 'be at ease, loll', in the succeeding clause and on the fact that in post-Biblical
Hebrew t-r-h b- is indeed used of assiduous study.
10. Not impossibly, these words also continue the military metaphor, the meaning being that the
assailant does not linger on the heights surrounding the city but makes straight for the gates—the
Roman succedere portis. (The form be-rumeha, in place of the more usual bi-mfromeha, would have
been chosen as lending itself more readily to the metaphorical nuance.) It may perhaps be suggested
that there is also an allusion to the Graeco-Roman custom whereby young blades used to make the
rounds ('go epi komon') after dinner battering on the doors of their lady-loves. If the latter refused
them admission, the ardent suitors would often force entry; see fully Headlam-Knox, Herodas (1925),
pp. 85f. The Versions squeamishly substitute, / spread my hands to heaven!
11. The conventional rendering (RSV), and lamented my ignorance of her, rests on a lamentable
ignorance of the fact that the Greek Version's I lamented (epenthesa) is simply a corruption (and what
a corruption!) of a very similar word (viz. epenoesa) meaning I contemplated. (This, however, is itself
a mistaken rendering of the Hebrew, which really means, that I might contemplate.)
12. For the moralizing tone of these lines, cp. Erasmus' description of Thomas More in his celebrated
letter to Ulrich Hutten: 'When he was of an age for it, he was not averse to love-affairs with young
women, but kept them honorable, preferring the love that was offered to that which he must chase
after, and was more drawn by spiritual than by physical intercourse' (tr. Barbara Flower, in J.
Huizinga, Erasmus of Rotterdam [1952], p. 235).
13. This is the end of the pious exhortation into which our merry poem so dismally peters out.
8 - Vice (The Wiles Of The Harlot)
=======
Introduction
This ingenious little sermon (composed in verse and based largely on the seventh chapter of the
Biblical Book of Proverbs) is obviously to be understood allegorically, for there would be no point in
warning desert ascetics against the ploys of real live urban streetwalkers. The harlot is evidently
Apostasy or the like, in line with the Biblical characterization of it as 'whoredom'.
The subtle artistry of the poem should not be missed. Almost every statement is couched in terms of
double-entendre, the actual characteristics of a prostitute (as frequently portrayed in classical
literature) being interpreted in a metaphorical sense. Thus, the raucous banter, coarse jests, and
wheedling flattery with which she customarily accosts passers-by become the worthless,
blasphemous, and seductive mouthings of apostasy; the earnings which she stashes in the folds or
bosom of her dress become the multitude of transgressions which impiety carries with it Similarly, the
bright (usually yellow) garments which ladies of easy virtue commonly affected in ancient times are
the shades of night and gloom in which sin is enveloped; the little patches of gold foil with which, in
Roman times, loose women concealed defects of complexion are caustically identified as the scabs
and blotches of corruption.
The harlot's bed is the bed of worms spread in the netherworld; the darkened chamber in which she
receives her clients is darkling Hell; the furtiveness which pervades it is the silence of the grave; and
the heat of lust is the 'everlasting fire'. The alleys which she frequents are the gates of the netherworld;
her smooth blandishments are slippery morasses. And in almost every case the point is made by a
application of Scriptural phrases or clichés.
Nor is it only the content, but also the structure of the poem that is cunningly contrived. The poet
passes successively from the whore's demeanor and talk (her mouth, tongue, lips, wiles,
blandishments, and badinage) to her physical traits (the characteristics of her heart, reins, hands, and
feet); then to her dress and ornaments (cloak, skirts, spangles); then to her abode (bed, darkened
chamber, 'pavilion', 'tent', and doorway); and finally to her behavior on her 'beat'.
=======
The Wiles Of The Harlot
[Out of] her [mouth] she brings forth emptiness,
and on [her tongue lie] devious wiles. (1)
Ever importuning, (2) [she] gives sharp edge to [her] words; (3)
with reprobate [lips] (4) she plies her blandishments (5)—
[banter] (6) and badinage and mocking jests. (7)
Her heart contrives wantonness,
and her reins are a well[spring of filth]. (8)
Her hands are stained with wrongdoing, (9)
her feet are close to a pit; (10)
they run (11) to do wickedness,
and to go about amid transgressions; (12)
[her steps] are grounded in darkness. (13)
(Stored) in the lappet of her garments
are a million transgressions. (14)
[Her skirts] (15) are the shades (16) of night,
and her vestments [the shadow of death]. (17)
{5} Her raiment is the murk of twilight, (18)
and her spangles are squalid blotches. (19)
Her couch is the mattress of Corruption; (20)
[her bed] the depths of the Pit. (21)
To pass the night with her
is to lie in darkness, (22)
and her [ ] (23) is the blackness of night. (24)
She sets her pavilion (25) in the darkling realm, (26)
and dwells in the tents of Silence, (27)
amid the eternal burnings; (28)
she does not partake at all
of the lights of the dayspring. (29)
From her start all ways of wrongdoing. (30)
Alas, she has ever brought ruin
on all who possessed her,
and destruction on all who laid hold on her;
for her ways are the ways of Death, (31)
and her roads are the paths of Sin;
{10} her trails are the twists and turns of wrongdoing,
and [her] byways are lawless transgression. (32)
Her gates are the gates of Death; (33)
beside her doorway she strides, (34)
<luring men> to Hell. (35)
All that go into her never come back, (36)
and all that possess her go down to Corruption. (37)
[. . .] She lies in wait in hidden places (38)
[to catch] (39) all who [pass by]. (40)
She goes muffled up (41) through the city squares
takes her stand at the gates of towns. (42)
There is no cal[ming her] cla[mor] (?). (43)
Her eyes peer (44) hither and yon,
and wantonly lifts she her lids,
to see [if perchance there be] (45)
a righteous man to turn back in his course, (46)
or a [blame]less man to tnp up,
turning the upright from their path, (47)
God's honest and true elect (48)
{15} from keeping the commandments; (49)
converting soothfast men (50) to wantonness (?) (51)
and causing those that walk straight
to alter [their course]; (52)
inciting the meek to rebel against God,
and turning their steps from the paths of righteousness; (53)
bringing intemperance (54) [into their hearts] (55)
so that they keep not their stance
on straightforward paths; (56)
leading men astray
on pit-ridden ways. (57)
and seducing the sons of men
into morasses. (58)
=======
Notes
1. In a literal sense, the Heb. word to'oth here means 'fatuities', being taken as the equivalent of
tu^tittm, which is similarly juxtaposed with 'emptiness' (hebel) in Jer. 10.15; 51.18. It thus
characterizes the chatter of whores. Metaphorically, however, it means 'errors', i.e., the false and
blasphemous doctrines fostered by apostasy and irreligion. Nicholas Breton (1626) similarly describes
the reprobate: 'His breath is the fume of blasphemy, and his tongue a firebrand of hell'.
2. Cp. Prov. 7.15.
3. For the Heb. expression, cp. Palestinian Talmud, Ber. iii.6 (though there used in a different sense).
4. Cp. Job 27.4; cp. also Mal. 2.6. The expression recurs in Hymns v.24.
5. Cp. Prov. 2.16; 7.5.
6. Restoring [la'ag] wa-qeles, after Pss. 44.14; 79.4. The expression recurs in War, ii.10. In the literal
sense, it refers to the banter and persiflage in which streetwalkers customarily indulge;
metaphorically, to the taunts which apostasy habitually flings at faith.
7. The Heb. word (hells) means both 'jest' and 'scoff. In the literal sense it refers to the ribaldries
hurled by more brazen harlots at passers-by. In Greek literature, such gay talk is regarded as a
hallmark of loose women: see Headlam-Knox, Herodas (1922), pp. 34f. Metaphorically, it refers to
the mocking tone of apostasy.
8. I restore: me[qor niddah], after Hymns i 22; xii.25. The expression derives from Zech. 13.1 (though
there used in a different sense). Literally, this refers to the physical uncleanliness of
streetwalkers—possibly ever to venereal disease; metaphorically, to moral turpitude and base
doctrine.
9. Modelled on Isa. 59.3. Cp. also Ezek. 23.37, 45.
10. Cp. Ps. 17.5.
11. The manuscript is here indistinct. I read yarusu, after the similar (though not identical) expression
in Isa, 59.7; Prov. 1.16.
12. Cp. Ps. 68.21.
13. 'Darkness' is here a popular term for the netherworld cp. Ps. 143.3; Job 10.21; 17.13; Lam. 3.6.
Comparable are the Akkadian expressions, 'Dark House' (bitu etu) and 'House of Gloom' (bit ekleti);
see M. Held, in The Gaster Festschrift (1973), p. 179, n. 53.
14. In the literal sense, this refers to the practise of stashing money, etc. in the lappet (Latin, lacinia;
Akkadian, qannu) of the robe; it is there that the harlot would carry her earnings. Metaphorically,
what wanton apostasy carries around is a load of transgressions. ('A million' is simply a rendering ad
sensum of the Heb. 'a multitude'.)
15. Restoring [shulehah]. Cp. the familiar English 'trailing garments of the night'.
16. The Heb. word to'afoth, which occurs, in quite a different sense, in Num. 23.22; 24.8, and in Ps.
95.4; Job 22.25, is here equated with te'ufah, 'darkness', in Job 11.17; cp. also ib. 10.22.
17. Restoring [salmoaweth]—a word (properly, salmuth) which really means 'darkness', but was
popularly inter preted in antiquity as 'shadow of death' (i.e., sel maweth); cp. Job 10.22.
18. The harlot walks her beat at twilight; cp. Prov. 7.9. On the literal level, these words are a pointed
gibe at the bright colors (especially yellow) affected by loose women; see Kirby Smith, on Tibullus,
i.7.46; T. H. Gaster, Myth, Legend, and Custom in the Old Testa-ment (1969), §266(b).
19. For the ornaments (spangles) worn by harlots, cp. Ezek. 23.40. On the literal level, this phrase
satirizes the gold patches (Latin, splenia; cp. Martial, ii.29, 9) which, in Roman times, women wore to
conceal bodily blemishes.
20 I e., the bed of worms spread in the netherworld, cp. Isa. 14.11. ('Corruption' may here be a pure
synonym for Sheol; for the sentiment, cp. Ps. 139.8.)
21. For the sentiment, cp. Prov. 7.27; 9.18.
22. Literally, 'her lodgings are darkness', see above, n. 13.
23. The manuscript is here indistinct Allegro reads [me]mshelotehah, 'her realm, bailiwick', but what
is required is a closer parallel to 'her lodgements', in the preceding line.
24. Cp. Prov. 7.9—here again a popular term for the netherworld.
25. The Heb. expression is based on Isa. 40.22. Cp. also Gen. 13.18.
26. Cp. Prov. 7.9.
27. I.e., in the netherworld; cp. Pss. 94.17; 115.17.
28. Cp. Isa. 33.14, but here denoting the fires of hell; cp. Manual, ii.8; iv.13; Hymns xviii.13.
29. Heb. Me'ore nogah. I interpret the latter word from the specific sense which it bears in Syriac (cp.
also Isa. 60.3), because the poet seems to intend a pointed contrast to 'the murk of twilight' previously
mentioned. But the expression could mean simply 'bright lights' in general.
30. Modelled on Prov. 8.22.
31. Cp. Prov. 14.12; 16.25; II Esdras 7.48; 8.31. 'Death' here means the netherworld, as in Is?. 26.15;
38.18; Job 28.22. Comparable is the Akkadian 'House of Death' (bit muti). For the notion of the road
to Death, see T. H. Gaster, in Iraq 6 (1939), 130, n. 70; M. Held, in Th. Gaster Festschrift (1973), p.
180, n. 56.
32. This expression recurs in Manual, ix.4. Cp. also ib., i.23.
33. Cp. Isa. 38.10; Ps. 9.14; Job 38.17; Hymns vi.24.
34. Cp. Prov. 9.14. Lurking in doorways is often mentioned in Greek literature as a sign of loose
morals, e.g., Theophrastus, Characters, xxviii.3; Aristophanes, Peace, 978-86; Thesm., 792;
Xenophon, Oec., viii.30; Menander, fr. 546 Koch.
35. Cp. Prov. 5.5. Meter and sense alike suggest that two lines have here been accidentally run
together.
36. Prov. 2.19; cp. also Job 10.21; 16.22. Comparable is the Akkadian 'Land of No Return' (erset Id
tari) as a term for the netherworld. Not impossibly, this line is also to be understood sensu obscoeno,
with a kind of double-entendre.
37. Cp. Ps. 30.10; Job 33.24; Ezek. 28.8.
38. Cp. Ps. 10.9; Lam. 3.10.
39. I restore: [la-hetof], after Ps. 10.9. For such 'snatch-ing' of wayfarers by lurking harlots, cp.
Theophrastus, Characters, xxviii.3; Athenaeus, xiii.569C, where an exactly equivalent term
(harpazem) is used.
40. Restoring, with Allegro: ['obere derek], after Prov. 9.15; but ['ober ba-shuq], 'who passes in the
street', after Prov. 7.8, would also be possible.
41. Cp. Gen. 38.14 and the traditional (though probably incorrect) interpretation of Song of Songs,
1.7, as read in the Masoretic text.
42. Cp. Prov. 8.3.
43. The text is damaged. Allegro restores: We-en le-harg['iah] me-ha[tto]t [temimim], 'and there is no
stirring (i.e., interrupting) her from leading innocent men astray'. This is certainly possible, but in
view of the fact that in Prov. 7.11 and 9.13 the harlot is described expressly as 'boisterous' (homiyah),
the verb may mean 'calm, quieten' (from r-g- II) rather than 'stir' (from r-g-' I). An alternative
restoration of the follow-ing me-h[ ] might then be me'[hemyat. .. (cp Isa. 14.11)], 'from (her)
boisterous [clamor]', the voice contrasting with the eyes.
44. Heb. yaskilu is here used in the post-Biblical sense of 'peer' (histakel).
45. I restore: li-re[th ha-yesh]; cp. Ps. 14.2.
46. The verb tsghu must here be vocalized tesigehu from s-w-g (=s-w-g), 'fall back', rather than
tessigehu, from n-s-g, 'overtake', in view of the fact that the former is similarly juxtaposed with k-sh-l,
'trip, stumble', in Manual, ii.12.
47. Cp. Ps. 37.14; Prov. 28.10; 29.27
48. Literally, 'the elect of righteousness', cp. Hymns ii.13.
49. Cp. Pss. 78-7: 119.115; Prov. 6.20.
50. I restore semuke [yeser}, after the expression, yeser samuk (taken from Isa. 26.3) in Manual, iv.5;
viii.3; Hymns i.35; ii.9.
51 The manuscript is indistinct. If Allegro's le-h-b-y-l is correct, the only possible explanation would
be to vocalize le-habbil, from n-b-l, 'be impious, coarse', but the causative (hif'il) form of this root
occurs nowhere else, so that this reading is suspect. For the sentiment, cp. Hymns ii.36.
52. The text is again damaged. Allegro restores: [hoq], 'the ordinance', but a plausible alternative
would be simply dar[kam] or der[ek], '(their) way'.
53. Cp. Prov. 16.31. The expression recurs in Manual, iv.2.
54. Heb. zadon is usually rendered 'presumption', but it comes from a root which means primarily
'seethe', and 'seething passion, lust, intemperance' seems to be the nuance here intended.
55. Indistinct.
56. Cp. Prov. 4.11.
57. Literally, this means simply 'potholed roads' (cp. analogously Jer. 2.6, 'a land of pits/holes'), but
the expression is intended to convey also the notion of 'roads leading to the Pit', i.e., the netherworld.
58. There is here a subtle double-entendre, the Heb. halaqot meaning both 'smooth talk' and 'slippery
places' (cp. Ps. 73.18). Hence the meaning is at once that the harlot seduces men by her blandishments
and into a morass!
9 - Visions And Testaments (The Last Words of Amram)
=======
Introduction
A distinctive genre of Jewish literature in the Graeco-Roman period was the fictitious testament, or
deathbed exhortation, of an ancestral worthy or religious leader, usually combined with a prophecy of
what was yet in store for his heirs. (1) The parade examples of this genre are The Testaments of the
Twelve Patriarchs (sons of Jacob), constituent portions of which have indeed turned up at Qumran;
and to this category too belongs the curious text presented in the following pages. Composed in
Aramaic (the vernacular tongue), all that now remains of it are a few sorry fragments derived from
four copies, and even these have not yet been published in their entirety. Any comprehensive
interpretation can therefore be but tentative and provisional.
The central theme of the text is a dream-vision seen by Amram, the father of Moses, on the day of his
death, (2) and his consequent admonitions to his sons. What Amram sees are two otherworldly beings
representing respectively the Prince of Light and the Prince of Darkness—virtual personifications of
the good and evil inclinations in man. They are engaged in an altercation about him, and he is invited
to choose between them.
The underlying notion that human life is in fact a struggle between these two forces is well attested
elsewhere. (3) We have met it already in The Manual of Discipline (iii.13-iv.26; above, p. 48), and
allusions to it are to be found in The Testament of Asher (i-iv), in the Visions (v.6) and Mandates
(ii.12) of Hermes Pastor, in the Slavonic Book of Enoch (xix.5), in sundry passages of the Talmud
(Ber. 60b; Sheb. 119b; Ta'an. 11a), and-at a far later date—in the apocryphal Apocalypse of Paul (xivxvii) (4) and in The Book of Angels current among the Falashas of Ethiopia. (5)
The Jews, for their part, probably adopted it from Iranian lore, but it is not in fact confined to JudaeoChristian literature. Censorinus, the Roman scholar of the third century C.E., tells us that it was held
by Euclides of Megara, a disciple of Socrates, (6) and it is the theme of the famous apologue of
'Heracles at the Cross-roads' attributed to the Sophist Prodicus and related at length in Xenophon's
Memorabilia (II, 1.21-34). (7) In our present text, however, a new twist is introduced (as again in the
Apocalypse of Paul) in the fact that the two spirits contend over a man's soul on the day of his death
and that they invite Amram to choose between them.
In the Epistle of Jude (verse 9) there is a reference to the legend that the angel Michael contended
with the Devil for the body of Moses, (8) and this legend is mentioned also in the Slavonic Life of
Moses, (9) in a statement by Severus, Patriarch of Antioch (542 C.E.), quoted in the Catena of
Nicephorus (on Deut ch. 34), in the later rabbinic Midrash known as The Demise of Moses (Petirath
Mosheh) (10) and in the apocryphon entitled The Testament of Abraham (ch. xvii). At first blush it
might seem that what is related in our text is simply a variation of that legend.
The comparison, however, is utterly misleading, for what is implied in those works is really
something quite different, viz., the resistance offered by a benign angel to the attempt of Death
(acting, to be sure, under orders from God) to snatch away the body of a preeminently righteous and
virtuous man. There is no question of a choice between good and evil offered to the dying.
On the other hand, it would appear that our text was indeed known to Origen (185-254 C.E.), for in
his Thirty-fifth Homily, on Luke 12.58-59, as translated by Jerome in 389-90 C.E., he speaks of
angels struggling for the soul of Abraham, and J. T. Milik has argued persuasively that Abraham is
there, in all probability, a corruption of (*) Ambram, a frequent distortion of Amram! (11)
A word may be added on what might otherwise seem a puzzling feature of our text, namely, that both
of the angels (or spirits) have the grim face of a reptile. To be sure, for purposes of the story, both
would have to look alike; otherwise there could be no real choice between them.
In Prodicus' apologue, however, and again in The Testament of Abraham, the evil one disguises itself
in fair colors, whereas here just the opposite is the case; the good one wears the mien of his sinister
opponent, who is indeed described elsewhere as possessing the face of a reptile. (12) The only
difference between them is that the good one is light, and the evil one dark. The virtuous Amram,
however, is 'tipped off by the former, and by reason of that information and of his own innate
proclivity toward goodness is able, evidently, to make the right choice!
The Admonitions (preserved in a supplementary fragment) play, in a hortatory vein, on the same
distinction between the 'light' and the 'dark', matching their ultimate fate with their character. It is
perhaps possible to detect in the descriptions the influence of Iranian lore. (The correspondences are
pointed out in the notes to the text.)
=======
Notes
1. On the widespread notion that the dying are prescient, see T. H. Gaster, Myth, Legend, and Custom
in the Old Testament (1969) §74.
2. The dream-vision in classical literature is familiar especially from Cicero's Somnium Scipionis. It
became a standard device of medieval writers, as witness Dante's Divina Commedia, Langland's Piers
Plowman and Pearl. 'Dream', as Brian Stone has observed (Medieval English Verse [Penguin Classics,
1964], p. 138), 'was out of consciousness and therefore an extension of the mind beyond life'.
3. See: S. Schechter, Aspects of Rabbinic Theology (1909), pp. 241-63; G. F. Moore, Judaism in the
First Centuries of the Christian Era (repr. 1971), i.483ff.; F. C. Porter, in Biblical and Semitic Studies
(Yale Bicentennial Publications, 1902), pp. 98-107; H. L. Strack and P. Billerbeck, Kommentar zum
Neuen Testament aus Talmud und Midrash, iv (1928), pp. 466-68; W. D. Davies, Paul and Rabbinic
Judaism (2) (repr. 1967), pp. 21ff. On this doctrine in the Dead Sea Scriptures, see: H. W.
Huppenbauer, Der Mensch zwischen zwei Welten (1959); J. Licht, in Scripta Hierosolymitana 4
(1958), pp. 88-100; O. J. F. Seitz, in New Testament Studies 6 (1960), pp. 82-95; P. WernbergM011er, in Revue de Qumran 3 (1961-62), 413-41; M. Treves, ibid., 449-52.
4. Translated in M. R. James, The Apocryphal New Testament (1924), pp. 531ff.
5. J. Halevy, ed., Taazaze Sanbat (1902), pp. 173f.; W. Leslau, Falasha Anthology (1951), pp. 52f.
6. Censorinus, iii.3.
7. The apologue is said to have formed part of Prodicus' work, Horai. K. Joel (Socrates, iii, i, 125f.),
however, attributes it to Antisthenes; see W. C. Greene, Moira (1944), pp. 242f. On the idea in general
in Classical thought, see: P. Boyan6, in Revue de Philologie 9 (1935), 189ff., R. B. Onians, The
Origins of European Thought About the Body, etc. (1951), p. 265.
8. Origen and others say that this was taken from the pseudepigraphic Assumption of Moses, but it is
not found in the extant, albeit incomplete, Latin version of that work.
9. Edited by R. Bonwetsch in Gottingen Nachrichten, 1900, 58If. So too in the Byzantine Palaea; see
Vassiliev, in Anecdota Graeco-Byzantina (1893), p. 247; M. R. James, op. cit., p. 47.
10. A. Jellinek, Seth ha-Midrash, vi (1878), 71f.; J. D. Eisenstein, Osar Midrashim (1915), ii.361f. On
the later survival of this legend, see M. Asin Palacios, Islam and the Divine Comedy (1926), pp. 221f.
11. J. T. Milik, in Revue Biblique 79 (1972), 91f.
12. See L. Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, ii.195; v.101, 123; Testament of Abraham, xvii; Gabriel
too sometimes takes this form: Ginzberg, op. cit., v.423. Possibly, the author was influenced also by
the popular notion of the two celestial assessors who present to God the cases for the prosecution and
defense of a dying man, for these are commonly portrayed as both possessing a grim aspect.
=======
The Last Words Of Amram
Transcript of the text (1) relating the vision of Amram, son of Kehath, son of Levi—all that he
revealed to his sons and that he enjoined upon them on the day he died in (his) one hundredth and
sixty-sixth year; (2) the year of his death being the one hundredth and fifty-second since Israel made
its departure into Egypt.
In a dream I had a vision; two beings were disputing about me and exchanging words and holding a
fierce argument.
'Who are you', I asked them, 'that you should be [arguing and wrangling] in this way over me?' 'We',
they replied, 'are [the two powers that have been given r]ule, and indeed wield it, over all mankind'.
'Which of us', they continued, 'do you [choose ]?'
I raised my eyes and looked them over. [The one] of them had a terrifying mien like an asp. (3) His
r[ai]ment was deepdyed, and (he himself) very dark. (4)
Then I looked at the other. He was [ ] of mien, with the face of a viper, and [ ], and all his eyes were [
]. (5)
[I turned to the latter of the two. 'What', I asked, 'is the matter of your dispute?']
'[Each of us', he replied, 'is out to claim] rule over you [in this hour of your death]'. (6)
'[But] who', [I pursued,] 'is this unearthly being (7) (standing beside you)?'
'This unearth[ly being]', he rejoined, 'is [one who operates under several guises: to wit, as ..., as ...]
and as the King of Wickedness'. (8)
'Sir', said I, 'what is [his] name?'
'[His name', came the answer, 'is Belial (?). (9) His every thought is dark]ling, and d[ar]kling his every
act, and in darkness he [walk]s. (10) [That is why he himself is dark, as] you see. He has been given
rule over all that is dark, whereas I [have been given it over all that is light By the command of Him
Who wields sway] alike above and below. I am he that bears rule over all that is light and all that is [
]. I bear it, to boot, over (every) man [that ], and (so) I bear it [over all the sons of light]'.
(Thereupon) I asked him, '[ ]. [Under what] names do you go?' (*)
'Of my three names', [he rep]lied, '[the first is ... , and the second.., and the third. . .]'. (11)
***
=======
[The Admonitions]
... I hereby make [kn]own [unto you. More]over, I make known [to you] in sooth [that all the sons of
light] will (hereafter) abide (†) in light, (12) [while all the sons of] darkness will abide in darkness;
(13) [that, because of all the knowledge (14) which is theirs, [the sons of light will be like a robe
without tear or spot], while the sons of darkness will be [like soiled patches] cut away; (15) that,
(since) all folly and wicked[ness] (16) are things of [darkness], while all [probi]ty and truth [are]
things of light, [all the sons of light will go (hereafter) ] into light, into joy [everlasting and into]
renewal, (17) while all the sons of dark[ness] will go [into darkness, hell (and)] perdition; [that
(hereafter)] enlightenment [will come] to the People, (18) and [God] will reveal [ ].
***
----
[*] Literally, '[What are] your names?'
[†] Literally, 'be'.
---=======
Notes
1. The initial words of the title correspond to the formula which introduces several of the Testaments
of the Twelve Patriarchs.
2. This agrees with the Samaritan text of Exod. 6.20—a reading found also in the Codex Alexandrinus
of the Greek (Septuagint) Version. The Masoretic text has 'the one hundred and sixty seventh', and
other LXX manuscripts 'the one hundred and sixty second'.
3. Perhaps this refers more specifically to their terrifying stare. Compare Euripides' description of
serpents as 'gorgon-eyed' (Hercules Furens, 1266). In a tablet from Asshur (7th cent. B.C.) describing
Prince Kummiya's journey to the netherworld, he sees the demonic 'Death' (d Mu-u-[tu]) with the
head of a dragon (mushhushshu), two human hands, and two serpent-twined feet; E. Ebeling, Tod und
Leben, I (1931), p. 5; A. Heidel, The Gilgamesh Epic and Old Testament Parallels3 (1949), p. 133; E.
A. Speiser, in ANET, 109a-110b.
4. The idea that the Evil One is dark or black recurs elsewhere, e.g., Epistle of Barnabas, 4.9;
Apocryphal Acts of Thomas, ch. 33; of Andrew, ch. 22; Pistis Sophia, Coptic text, 637; Paris Magical
Papyrus, 1238-39. So too in German folklore: J. Grimm, Teutonic Mythology, tr. F. Stallybrass (repr.
1966), 993. In Gaelic he is known as 'Black Donald', and in English proverbs is likened to a collier:
Samuel Butler, Hudibras, ii.350; Notes and Queries, III.v (1864), 282, 389.
5. In view of the defective state of the text it is impossible to determine whether these words refer to
only one of the two spirits or (as Milik thinks) to both. In Talmud, 'Abodah Zarah 20b, Death is said
to have several eyes; while in Revelation 4.6 the four 'Creatures' who surround the heavenly throne
are 'covered with eyes'.
6. The supplements in this paragraph are purely conjectural, based on the fact that it is the Prince of
Lights that describes his adversary, rather than the latter speaking for himself. Perhaps in the
intervening gap Amram actually made his choice.
7. The Aramaic word is ir, the name of a class of celestial beings both in Daniel and in the Qumran
Memoirs of the Patriarchs. Whatever the word may originally have meant (v. T. H. Gaster, in IDB,
s.v. Watcher), it was popularly taken to denote 'Watcher' (as though from the root '-w-r, 'be awake'),
and is so understood in Enoch, where it is paraphrased (61.12), 'sleepless ones'.
8. The opposite of Melchizedek, i.e., 'King of Righteousness'. Milik says (hi Journal of Jewish Studies
23 [1972], 127f.) that in the yet unpublished Qumran text, 4Q 280.2, the name occurs in a
commination-formula parallel to that in Manual, col. ii, where it is applied to Belial.
9. Restored ad sensum from Manual, col. ii.
10. Cp. Manual, ibid.
11. In Talmud, Baba Bathra 16», R. Simon ben Lakish (c. 200-75 C.E.) is reported as saying that the
Evil Inclination (Yeser Ra') has two other names, viz. Satan and the Angel of Death. (This view is
included also in the rabbinic florilegium, Pirqe Rabbenu ha-Qadosh = J. D. Eisenstein, ed., Oscar heMidrashim [1915], ii.510a 1.) Cp. the similar statement in King James the First's Demonologie
(1597), 76: '[That same devil] illudes the necromancers with innumerable feigned names for him and
his angels, as in special, making Satan, Beelzebub and Lucifer to be three sundry spirits, where we
find the two former, but diverse names given to the Prince of all the rebelling angels by the Scripture.
... Even so, I say, he deceives the witches by attributing to himself diverse names; as if every diverse
shape that he transforms himself in Were a diverse kind of spirit'. Cp. also Shakespeare, Mac. beth,
II.iii, 'Who's there, i' the name of Beelze-bub? ... Who's there, in the other devil's name'-which some
commentators take to mean, in the Devil's other name.
12. See Analytical Index, E. 3 (c). The notion may re. fleet the influence of Iranian lore, for the
expression corresponds to the 'endless light' (anaghra raochah) mentioned in Yasht xxii.15; xxiv.61 as
the future destination of the righteous.
13. Cp. Manual, ii.8. This too has an Iranian ring, for it corresponds to the 'endless darkness' (anaghra
temah) mentioned in Yasht xxii.33, etc., as the future destination of the wicked.
14. I.e., inner knowledge, gnosis—in contrast to the folly' of the wicked.
15. Reading, with Milik, ytqdn, which means, however, 'cut away', rather than 'cut down'. The word is
used in the Syriac Bible (Lev. 13.56) to denote the cutting out of a stained patch from the garment of a
man not yet completely recovered from skin disease. The picture intended by our author may thus
have been that the righteous will be like a clean garment, white and unstained (cp. Dan. 12.10),
whereas the wicked, themselves 'sons of darkness', will be like the dark patch, symbolic of lingering
impurity, which had then to be cut out; the implication being, of course, that they will be severed from
the community of Israel.
16. Cp. Eccles. 7.25.
17. See Analytical Index, E. 3 (e). This suggests the Iranian frashokereti.
18. See above, n. 12. Cp. also Isa. 9.1; 58.8; 60.1, 19-20; Manual, iv.8.
10 - Destiny (The Epochs of Time)
=======
Introduction
Josephus tells us (Ant., xiii.5, 9) that the Essenes—with whom the Qumran Brotherhood may be
identical—believed that all things were predetermined. Interesting light is shed on this by a
fragmentary text recovered from Cave Four. (1) Reconstructed from scraps of two mutually
complementary copies, the contents present an intriguing combination of two doctrines, viz., (a) that
the history of mankind is disposed by God in a series of preordained epochs, (2) and (b) that the
cardinal events of each epoch are brought about by angels whose activities were determined by God
before He created them. (3) The former of these doctrines probably reflects, in a religious vein, a
preoccupation with systematic chronology which was a notable feature of Hellenistic literature,
attested especially by quotations from the lost work of the historiographer Demetrius (ca. 215 B.C.)
and by the Book of Jubilees.
The text opens with a summary statement of these two doctrines. In proof of the former it is then
pointed out that the sequence of the ages seems indeed to follow a systematic scheme, since exactly
ten generations elapsed from Adam to Noah and from Noah to Abraham's begetting of Isaac. (4) The
latter doctrine is in turn validated by the observation that all the crucial events in the career of
Abraham, viz., the promise of the land to his descendants (Gen. 17.1-8), the apparition beside the oaks
of Mamre and the rescue of Lot (ib., 18.2, 29; 19.1, 15), the incident on Mount Moriah (ib., 22.11,
15), and the Plaguing of Pharaoh for molesting Sarai (ib., 12.17), involved the intervention of angels.
There is, however, one obvious objection which has to be offset: in at least one notorious instance,
namely, that of the commerce between the 'sons of God' and the daughters of men, recounted in Gen.
6.1—4, the angels in fact flouted God. (5) Identifying the ringleader (as in the Book of Enoch) with
Azazel, the author surmounts this difficulty by the argument that, after all, the rebels received condign
punishment, while those who did not join them enjoyed divine favor, (6) so that, in the long run, what
the incident really demonstrated was that God will not brook any interference with His plan and that
His rule is essentially benevolent.
Then, too, in the case both of the promise about the land and of the plaguing of Pharaoh the author has
to stretch a point in order to find evidence of intervention by angels, for the Scriptural text describes
them as actions performed directly by God Himself. Such pious substitution has, however, good
precedent and parallel. Thus—to cite but a few examples—the strange being with whom Jacob
wrestles at the Ford of Jabbok (Gen. 32.23ff.) am who is indeed subsequently identified as a god
(verses 29, 31), is described in Hos. 14.5 as an angel. Similarly, in Exod. 4.24, where the traditional
Hebrew text states that 'the LORD met Moses at the inn, meaning to kill him', the Greek (Septuagint)
Version and the Aramaic Targum substitute 'an angel of the LORD'; and in the case of the disease
inflicted on Pharaoh, the Qumran Memoirs of the Patriarchs says that the LORD sent 'a noisome spirit'
to do so, (7) and the same statement is made also in the Ethiopic Kebra Nagast (ch. 82, ed. Bezold).
=======
Notes
1. The texts were first published in full by J.M. Allegro in Discoveries in the Judaean Desert, V
(1968), nos. 180-81, and were then combined and interpreted by J.T. Milik in a brilliant study which
appeared in Journal of Jewish Studies 23 (1972), pp. 109ff. Valuable corrections of Allegro's readings
were supplied by J. Strugnell in Revue de Qumran, 1970, pp. 252-55.
2. On this doctrine, see Analytical Index, E. 1—2; II Baruch, chs. 56-71; IV Ezra, 14.11-12. As
applied eschatologically, cp. Dan. 9.24-27; Testament of Levi, 16.1; Enoch, 93.1-10; 91.12-17 (The
Apocalypse of Weeks').
3. On the predetermined roles of angels, cp. HI 7, 20, 28; Hymns viii.8; xi.34; xv.14, 22; xx.14.
4. Cp. Gen. 5.1-31; 11.10-26. This is pointed out specifically in Mishnah, Aboth, v.1-2.
5. On this legend in post-Biblical literature, cp. Enoch, chs. 6-10; 15-16; Jubilees, 5.1, 10; 10.5, 11;
11.4; Testament of Reuben, ch. 5; Testament of Judah, 25.3; Syr. Baruch, 56.10-13; Josephus, Ant., i,
3, 1; Philo, De Gigantibus, i.2; TB, Yama, 67b; Midrash Akbir, quoted in Yalqut, Gen. §44; L.
Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, vol. v, pp. 150ff.
6. For my interpretation of this passage, which differs from that proposed by Milik, see below, Notes
to the Text, n. 5.
7. See above, p. 366.
~~~~~~~
The Epochs Of Time
~~ (i) ~~
Clarification (1) (Of The Doctrine) Concerning The Fixed Epochs (Of History):
As regards GOD's (*) having set a fixed epoch for the [occurrence of everything past] and future, (the
fact is that) before He created [the angels] He determined what [they] were to do [in their several
epochs], epoch by epoch. Moreover, this was engraved on (heavenly) tablets (2) [and duly prescribed]
for the respective epochs La which they were to bear rule.
Here is the ordered scheme: [from Adam to Noah, and again from Noah] until [Abraham] begat Isaac
[He appointed] ten [generations].
CLARIFICATION (OF THE STORY) CONCERNING AZAZEL AND THE ANGELS WHO [HAD
INTERCOURSE WITH THE DAUGHTERS OF MEN], SO THAT THE LATTER BORE GIANTS
TO THEM, AND CONCERNING HOW AZAZEL [LED MEN ASTRAY ALONG WAYS OF]
INIQUITY AND (THEREBY) LEFT ISRAEL A LEGACY OF WICKEDNESS (WHICH IS TO
LAST) THROUGH AN EPOCH OF SEVENTY WEEKS (OF YEARS): (3)
[(The fact is that) GOD eventually sent these rebels to perdition] (4) for [ever, so as to execu]te
(condign) judgments (upon them), [and He also brought] judgment on all who had associated
themselves with them in their filth. (5) These were [ ], lovers of iniquity and such as leave a legacy of
guilt. [At the same time, however, God showed mercy and displayed His glory] in the sight of all that
indeed acknowledged (lit. knew) Him and mini[stered to His holiness. To those who serve Him His
love is endless (?)], and His goodness knows no bounds. [ ].
---[*] Written in archaic script
---Such men have (ever) been singled out through [their] knowledge (of Him) (6), E ]; through His truth
has He given them ordered mode of life [ ] throughout their various epochs [ ], whenso [they] are
brought into being.
~~ (ii) ~~
(The next passage seems to allegorize the Story of the Fallen Angels, taking them to typify the
reprobate among men, who are destined, on account of their impurity, to suffer 'great judgments and
grievous diseases'. The text is too imperfect and obscure to permit reliable translation. One recognizes
such significant words as 'guilt', 'the communion of unch[astity]', (7) 'wallowing(?) in human
sinfulness', and '(destined) for great judgments and grievous diseases of the flesh in conformity with
God's acts of power and in face of their wickedness'.
This is followed by a much clearer passage in which, conversely, those who did not join the rebels are
taken to typify the godly and pure among men. Here too, however, the restoration of several phrases
can be little more than guesswork:)
(Howbeit), in accordance with the tender mercy of (Sob, in accordance with His goodness and with
the wondrous manifestation of His glory, He has (always) granted it to some of the earth-born to gain
admittance (8) to the Congregation of the Holy, to be reckoned among the community of angelic
beings who are with Him, to have station there for life everlasting and to be in one lot with His
(celestial) Holy Ones. (9) A[ll men are punished(?) or mar]ked out for distinction (10) according to
the lot which [(gob] has assigned to each, [some for eternal shame and contempt, and some] for life
everlasting. (11)
~~ (iii) ~~
(The ensuing fragment begins with a reference to the promise to Abraham that his offspring would
inherit 'the land of his sojournings' [Gen. 17.8]—evidently regarded as another instance of the
intervention of angels. The promise appears to be interpreted allegorically, possibly as a reference to
'[Mount Zi]on, where God dwells', (11) but the text is too imperfect for confident restoration:)
[CLARIFICATION OF (THE INCIDENT CONCERNING)] THE THREE MEN [WHO]
APPEAR[ED] TO [ABRAHAM BESIDE THE OAKS OF MAMRE:
They were angels. [As regards the (subsequent) statement: 'Because the out]cry from Sodom and
Gomorrah is gr[eat] and because their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have been
doing as the outcry which has reached [Me] from them suggests, and if not, I will know' [Gen. 18.2021], the clarification of the matter is that it refers to (human) flesh, the evil of which is indeed great,
and to all who [ ], and to every [mouth] that utters [infamy]. And as to the statement, '(I will go down)
to see', this means that I will see that everything [is in accord with what has been duly pre-scribed(?)].
(12) Before He created them, He knew [their] designs.
~~ (iv) ~~
(A further fragment, likewise little more than a sorry scrap, refers to a place 'two days' journey away.'
This evidently refers to the incident on Mount Moriah, for Scripture says explicitly [Gen. 22.4] that
'on the third day (after he had set out) Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off. The
mountain appears to be iden-tified figuratively with Zion.
This is followed in turn by an allusion to 'what Scripture says about Pharaoh'. Since both incidents are
cited in proof of the contention that events are controlled by angels, and since the Memoirs of the
Patriarchs say clearly that a 'spirit' afflicted Pharaoh when he molested Sarai, it is plain that this is the
incident to which the text refers. Moreover, this would chime neatly with the preceding statement
about the diseases of the flesh which are visited on the reprobate.)
=======
Notes
1. Heb. pesher, the technical term used in the Qumran commentaries on Scripture.
2. For this notion, cp. HI 24; War, xii,3; Enoch, 81.1-2; 103.2; 106.19; 107.1; 108.7. See T. H. Gaster,
Thespis (2) (1961), pp. 288f.
3. Cp. Enoch, ch. 10; 21.7-10; 67.7.
4. Restored after Enoch, 10.4ff.
5. Milik restores this entire sentence to refer to Azazel and renders: '[making them forget] the
commandments and the commandment concerning the mystery of [their] (law of) impurity'. But (a)
the restoration, 'forget', introduced an unparalleled form of the Hebrew verb; (b) the word mishpatim,
which he renders 'commandments', is usually employed in the Qumran texts in the sense of
'judgments, punishments' (cp. Hymns iii.24; iv.26; v.4, 8; vi.29; ix.29; War, iv,6; vi,5),
'commandments' being expressed by miswoth, and it is precisely this condign punishment that is the
raison d'etre for the author's mentioning the incident; (c) the words sod nidda[tham], rendered 'the
mystery of (their law) of impurity', more naturally mean 'their associates/company in filth', for cp. an
analogous expression in HI 22. Cp. also Enoch, 10.11.
6. Milik, reading 'elleh nifla'e madda'[o], renders, 'these are the marvels of [His] knowledge'. This,
however, would require pela'e, not nifla'e. I therefore restore: 'elleh nifle'u mi-da'a[tham]. There may
even be a subtle point in the choice of the verb. The Scriptural text (Gen. 6.4) associates the fall of the
angels with the presence on earth of certain beings termed Nephilim.
Although the name was usually explained from the root n-ph-l, 'fall', in the sense of 'fallen angels',
there was an alternative interpretation which derived it from p-1-', 'be extraordinary'; cp. Aggadath
Bereshith, In-trod., §39; L. Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, vol. v, p. 154. Hence, what our author may
have had in mind was that, just as the rebels were distinguished for their impiety, so are the pure for
their knowledge of God.
7. 1, lines 1-2. In line 1 I restore tentatively, sod 'er[wah], after HI 22.
8. Heb. higgish. This is a technical term for admission to the Qumran Brotherhood; cp. Manual, vi.19;
Hymns xii.23; xiv.13, 18; xvi.12.
9. For the terms here used for the angelic hosts, see Analytical Index, F. 1 (a, b). For the general
notion, see Analytical Index, A. 12.
10. Restoring, [nif]le'u; see above, n. 6.
11. Tentatively restored after Dan. 12.2.
12. This follows Milik's restoration.
11 - Appendix
The Copper Scroll
The 'Prayer of Nabonidus'
=======
Appendix
While the major Scrolls—apart from such as may still be in the hands of the Bedouin—have now
been made available there are still thousands of fragments from the Dead Sea caves which await
publication. (*) The small band of devoted scholars who have been working on the documents in
Jordan deserve all of our admiration for the skill and patience with which, over the years, they have
endeavored to piece together these sorry scraps, and for their unremitting perseverance in the face of
difficulties, political and other.
At the same time, it is perhaps permissible to say that the extremely slow rate at which the documents
are being made available and the tendency to publish 'snippets' and excerpts in piecemeal fashion,
together place a severe strain on the patience of their colleagues in many lands. It is perhaps
permissible also to suggest that the interests of scholarship might be better served at this juncture if
these scholars were to conceive of their charge as that of sorting, assembling and classifying the
documents and then promptly publishing grouped photographs of them rather than of providing fullfledged first editions.
Meanwhile, even among the documents which have been published there are two which, though of
considerable interest, do not yet admit of reliable translation, either because no photographs have been
published, or else because they are too fragmentary. For the sake of completeness, these are
summarized in the following pages.
---(*) A long, but incomplete, scroll presents, in the form of direct instructions by God, rules concerning
clean and unclean, festivals, the structure and service of the Temple, and the role of the king. A
preliminary description has been published by Yigal Yadin in The Biblical Archaeologist, 36 (1967),
135-39, but his edition of the text was not yet available at the time this book went to press. It is my
hunch that the scroll may turn out to be a copy of the comprehensive Book of Study [Hgu] mentioned
in the 'Zadokite' Document (x.6; xiii.2) and in the Manual of discipline for the Future Congregation of
Israel (i.7).
---=======
The Copper Scroll
In 1952 there was discovered in Cave III at Qumran three tightly rolled sheets of copper, engraved
with writing. Unfortunately, the copper had become so seriously corroded that unrolling proved
impossible. Eventually, however, by a remarkable feat of resourcefulness and skill, Professor H.
Wright Baker, of the College of Technology at Manchester, England, succeeded in cutting the sheets
into strips, so that the inscription could be read. It then became apparent that the three sheets belonged
to a single document, prepared in the manner of a leather scroll, with rivets doing duty for sutures.
The document has turned out to be a register of buried treasure, purportedly hidden in various spots in
and near Jerusalem and in an area extending from Hebron to Mount Gerizim and including the Valley
of Qumran. No less than sixty-four deposits are listed, and in each case minute details are given of
location and depth. The objects in question include: a silver chest, ingots of gold and silver, jars of all
shapes and sizes, bowls, perfumes and—if the decipherment be correct—even vestments. In each
case, the amount and value of the objects are explicitly recorded, and sometimes the entry is followed
by a curious and enigmatic notation in Greek characters. It has been calculated that, by Old Testament
standards, the total value of the treasure would have amounted to some 138 tons of precious metal!
The purpose of the Scroll remains a puzzle. There are three main theories. The first is that it is a
record of the Qumran community's possessions which were cached in various places just before the
Romans advanced upon their 'monastery' in 68 A.D. Against this, however, it has been objected that
the amount of the treasure listed is prodigiously disproportionate to the probable resources of an
ascetic brotherhood!
The second theory is that the treasure is that of the Sec-ond Temple, committed for safekeeping to the
desert community when the sacred edifice fell, or was about to fall, to the Roman forces. But this too
is not without its diffi. culties. According to Josephus, (War, vi.5, §2) the main treasure of the Temple
was still in the building when it fell, and this happened in 70 A.D., whereas, according to the
archaeological evidence, the Qumran monastery had already been abandoned two years earlier.
Moreover, if the censorious references to the Jerusalemitan priesthood which we find in the Scrolls
really represent a contemporary attitude, it is not very likely that those officials would have turned to
the Qumran brotherhood for the safekeeping of their sacred vessels!
A third hypothesis is that the Scroll registers the treasure not of the Second but of the First
(Solomonic) Temple, removed from Jerusalem when it fell to Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C. Opinion is
divided, however, as to whether the list is factual or fictitious, seeing that accounts of somewhat
similar character indeed appear in later Jewish legend.
Perhaps there is room for a fourth theory. May not the Scroll represent an unconscionable fraud (or
even a cruel practical joke) perpetrated by some cynical outsider upon the naive and innocent minds
of the ascetics of Qumran? The fraud (or joke) would have been founded upon time-honored legends
about the buried treasure of the First Temple and have been calculated especially to appeal to the
hearts and minds of men who were looking to an imminent restoration of the past glories of Israel. In
support of this theory two significant points may be mentioned:
(a) In a Jewish legend concerning the concealment of the sacred vessels at various places in
Babylonia, (*) it is stated expressly that a certain Shimmur the Levite and his colleagues, who were
responsible for the operation, 'listed on a copper tablet the vessels of the First Temple which were in
Jerusalem or in any other holy place'. Fictitious as this account may be, it yet establishes what the
popular tradition was, and it is that tradition that a pretender (or practical joker) would have had to
follow.
---(*) Masseketh Kelim, reprinted in J.D. Eisenstein's Osar Midrashim (1915), pp. 260ff.
---(b) Josephus tells us (Ant., XVIII.4, §§1-2) that during the administration of Pontius Pilate (26-36
A.D.), someone did indeed perpetrate such a hoax on the Samaritans, whose independent temple on
Mount Gerizim had been razed by John Hyrcanus in 128 B.C. Samaritan legend said likewise that the
sacred vessels had then been cached against the day when the promised Restorer would arise and
mend their fortunes. (†) The hoaxer professed to be that deliverer, and rallied a large crowd of the
credulous under promise of revealing where the buried treasure lay.
---[†] See: T. Juynboll, ed., Chronicon Samaritanum cui titulus est Liber Josuae (1843), pp. 303-4; M.
Gaster, Samaritan Eschatology (1932), pp. 251, 271.
---Surely it is not farfetched to imagine that such a pretender may have made the rounds of credulous
communities, armed, by way of 'credentials', with a document comprehensively listing hidden troves
within their respective vicinities. Such a comprehensive document, covering 'at one swoop' the diverse
enclaves of the faithful, and inscribed—in accordance with tradition—on copper, may well be what
we have before us in our mysterious Scroll.
That the document was intended to be taken seriously and not simply as a piece of fiction is obvious
from two considerations. First, it is incredible that anyone would have taken the trouble to punch out
the text on copper if he had desired merely to tell a tale. Moreover, the document says distinctly that
another copy was buried elsewhere in the country, and this shows clearly that it purported to be a
genuine list.
Second-and this point seems strangely to have been overlooked-the curious notations in Greek
characters are inexplicable on the assumption that the whole document was just a product of
storytelling romance, latently, they were some kind of identification mark, and the only reason for
introducing them could have been either that the document was indeed a genuine list of treasure, the
ownership of each deposit being clearly indicated against future recovery, or that this was an extra
touch designed to lend verisimilitude to a fraud.
Two transcriptions of the Copper Scroll have thus far been published, by J.T. Milik (‡) and John
Allegro (§) respectively. But they differ so radically in almost every line that we must simply await
photographs before any translation can be safely attempted.
---[‡] Revue Biblique, 66 (1959), 321-57; 550-75. Revised in Discoveries in the Judaean Desert, III
(1963).
[§] J.M. Allegro, The Treasure of the Copper Scroll. London-New York, 1960.
---=======
The 'Prayer Of Nabonidus'
The collection of Scroll fragments in the possession of the Government of Jordan has yielded three
small scraps of a legendary narrative, written in Aramaic, relating how Nabonidus (called N-b-n-y),
the last king of the Neo-Babylonian empire (556-39 B.C.), while residing at Teima, was afflicted with
a grievous disease by the God of Israel. A Jewish adviser counselled him to 'render honor ... to the
name of God Most High' and admonished him that Thou hast been smitten with this noisome fever ...
for seven years because thou hast been praying to gods of silver and gold, which gods are but stock
and stone, mere clay' ... The fragments, published with remarkable skill by J. T. Milik, (*) are,
unfortunately, in too sorry a condition for much to be made of them.
---(*) Revue Biblique, 63 (1956), 407ff.
----
12 - Sources
=======
The Service Of God
1. The Manual Of Discipline
Cross, F. M., et al., Scrolls from Qumran Cave I. American Schools of Oriental Research and Shrine
of the Book, 1972. Licht, J., Megillath ha-Serachim. Jerusalem, 1965.
2. The 'Zadokite' Document
Zeitlin, S., ed., The Zadokite Fragments. (Jewish Quarterly Review Monograph Series, no. 1.)
Philadelphia: The Dropsie College, 1952. (Photographs of the Cairo Genizah manuscripts.)
Rost, L., ed., Die Damaskusschrift. (Kleine Texte fur Vor-lesungen und Vbungen, ed. H. Lietzmann,
No. 167.) Berlin, 1933. Rabin, Ch., ed., The 'Zadokite' Documents. (2) Oxford, 1954.
3. The Letter Of The Law: Ordinances
Allegro, J., ed., Discoveries in the Judaean Desert, V. Oxford, 1968; no. 157, pp. 6-7, plate ii.
4. A Formulary Of Blessings
Barthelemy, D., and Milik, J. T., eds., Discoveries in the Judaean Desert, I. Oxford, 1955; no. 2Sb, pp.
118-29, plates xxv-xxix.
5. The Hymn Of The Initiants
Manual of Discipline, cols. x-xi.
6. The Book Of Hymns
Sukenik, E. L., ed., The Dead Sea Scrolls of the Hebrew University. Jerusalem, 1955; plates xxv-lvii.
Licht, J., ed., Megillath ha-Hodayoth. Jerusalem, 1957.
=======
Poems From A Qumran Hymnal
7. David: Psalm 151
Sanders, J. A., ed., DSD IV (1965), pp. 54-64, plate xvii
8. Invitation
ibid., pp. 64-70, plate xii.
9. Flea For Grace
ibid., pp. 70-76, plate xv.
10. Supplication
ibid., col. xix, pp. 76-79, plate xii.
11. The City Of God
ibid., col. xvii, pp. 85-89, plate xiv.
12. Morning Hymn
ibid., pp. 80-91, plate xvi.
13. Lament For Zion
Allegro, op. cit., no. 179; pp. 75-77, plate xxvi.
14. Hymns Of Triumph
J. Starcky, in Revue Biblique 73 (1966), 356-57.
=======
The Mercy Of God
15. Prayer For Intercession
Baillet, M., in Revue Biblique 69 (1961), 195-250.
=======
Glory To God In The Highest
16. The Litany Of The Angels
(a) Strugnell, J., in Vetus Testamentum, Suppl. 7 (I960), 336ff.
(b) ibid., 318ff.
=======
The Word Of God
I. Expositions of Scripture
17. Isaiah
(a) 5.5-6, 11-14, 24-25, 29-30 DID V, no. 162, cols, i-iii; plate vi.
(b) 6.9 ibid., col. iii.
(c) 10.12-13, 20-24 ibid., no. 163, col. ii; plates vii-viii.
(d) 10.21-22, 24-27, 28-32 ibid., no. 161, frags. 1-6; plates iv-v.
(e) 14.8, 26-30 ibid., no. 163, frags. 8-10; plate viii.
(f) 30.15-18 ibid., frag. 23, col. ii; plate viii.
(g) 52.1-3
ibid., no. 176, frags. 8-11; plates xxii-xxiii. (h) 54.11-12
ibid., no. 164, frag. 1; plate ix.
18. Hosea
ibid., nos. 166-67, plate x.
19. Micah
DJD I, plate xv, lines 8-19.
20. Nahum
DJD V, no. 169, plates xi, xiv.
21. Habakkuk
Cross et al., op. cit.
Habermann, A. H., 'Edah we-'Eduth. Jerusalem, 1958; pp. 39-56.
22. Psalm 37
DJD V, no. 171, plates xiv, xvii.
23. Psalm 45
ibid., no. 170, iii.23-27; plate xvii, 5, 10.
=======
II. Everyman's Bible
24. Memoirs Of The Patriarchs
Avigad, N., and Yadin, Y., eds., A Genesis Apocryphon. Jerusalem, 1956.
Fitzmyer, J. A., The Genesis Apocryphon of Qumran Cave 12 Rome, 1971.
25. The Oration Of Moses
DID I, no. 22, plates xviii-xix.
=======
The Triumph Of God
26. The War Of The Sons Of Light And The Sons Of Darkness
Sukenik, op. cit., plates xvi-xxiv.
Yadin, Y., Milhamath Bene 'Or bi-bene Hoshech. Jerusalem, 1957.
27. The Rout Of Belial [Catena]
DID V, no. 177, frags. 1-14, plates xxiv-xxv.
28. The Coming Doom
DJD L, no. 27, col. i, plates cii-cv.
29. Weal And Woe: An Exhortation
DJD V, no. 185, plates xxix-xxx.
30. The Last Jubilee: A Sermon. [Melchizedek]
Milik, J. T., in Journal of Jewish Studies 23 (1972), 96-126.
Van der Woude, A., in New Testament Studies 12 (1966),
301-26.
Fitzmyer, J. A., in Journal of Biblical Literature 86 (1967),
23-41.
Carmignac, J., in Revue de Qumran 27 (1971), 343-78.
Sanders, J. A., in The Gaster Festschrift (New York, 1973),
pp. 373-82.
31. The New Covenant
DJD I, no. 34, ii.
32. Manual Of Discipline For The Future Congregation Of Israel
ibid., no. 2Sa, plates xxii-xxiv.
=======
'Thy Kingdom Come':
33. The Messianic King
Allegro, J., in Journal of Biblical Literature 75 (1956),
174-76.
34. Testimonia: Proof-Texts Of The Messianic Era
DJD V, no. 175, plate xxi.
35. A 'Messianic' Florilegium
ibid., no. 174, plates xiv-xx.
36. The Wondrous Child
Starcky, J., in Memorial du cinquantenaire de l'Ecole des langues orientales anciennes de l'Institut
Catholique de Paris (1964), 51-66.
Carmignac, J., in Revue Biblique 18 (1965), 199-217. Fitzmyer, J. A., in The Catholic Biblical
Quarterly 27 (1965), 34872 (reprinted in his Essays on the Semitic Background of the New Testament
[1974], pp. 127-60).
=======
Virtue
37. The Wooing Of Wisdom [Sirach 51.13ff.]
Sanders, J. A., ed., The Dead Sea Psalms Scroll [DJD TV], cols, xxi, 11-17; xxii, 1; plates xiii-xiv.
[For a convenient text of the paraphrase from the Cairo Genizah, see H. L. Strack, ed., Die Spruche
Jesus' des Sohnes Sirach (Leipzig, 1903), pp. 56-57.]
=======
Vice
38. The Wiles Of The Harlot
DJD V, no. 184, plate xxviii.
=======
Visions And Testaments
39. The Last Words Of Amram
Milik, J. T., in Revue Biblique 79 (1972), 76-97.
=======
Destiny
40. The Epochs Of Time
DJD V, nos. 180-81.
Milik, J. T., in Journal of Jewish Studies 23 (1972), 109-26.
13 - Analytical Index
This index consists of a list of the major themes and concepts which appear in The Dead Sea
Scriptures. They are arranged in the following categories:
A. The Community
B. Government Of The Community
C. Laws And Practices
D. Opponents Of The Brotherhood
E. The Last Things (Eschatological Doctrines)
F. Angelology
Within each category the reader will find listed the topics relevant to it and where references to these
topics occur in the scrolls themselves and elsewhere in ancient literature. The abbreviations used are
as follows. These same abbreviations are used as well in the following index entitled BIBLICAL
QUOTATIONS AND PARALLELS.
AL The Litany of the Angels
Am The Last Words of Amram
Blessings A Formulary of Blessings
C The City of God
CD The Coming Doom
D David (Psalm 151)
ET Epochs of Time
Ex [Exhortation.] Weal and Woe
F A 'Messianic' Florilegium
H The Book of Hymns
HabC The Commentary on Habakkuk
Hfr. Fragments from the Book of Hymns
HI The Hymn of the Initiants (=ManuaI, x-xi)
HosC The Commentary on Hosea
HT Hymns of Triumph
Inv. Invitation to Grace After Meals
IsaC The Commentary on Isaiah
L Lamentation for Zion
LJ The Last Jubilee [The 'Melchizedek Texts']
M The Manual of Discipline
MFC Manual of Discipline for the Future Congregation of Israel
MH Morning Hymn
MiC The Commentary on Micah
MP Memoirs of the Patriarchs
NC The New Covenant
O [Ordinances.] The Letter of the Law
Oration The Oration of Moses
PG Plea for Grace
Pl Prayer for Intercession
Ps 37C The Commentary on Psalm 37
Ps 45C The Commentary on Psalm 45
RB The Rout of Belial
Sp Supplication
W The War of the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness
WC The Wondrous Child
WH The Wiles of the Harlot
WW The Wooing of Wisdom (Sirach 51.13ff.)
Z The 'Zadokite? Document
=======
A. The Community
1. The Community as a whole is called 'the Congregation i.e., of Israel, of God (cf. Num. 27.12;
31.16, etc.)
M v.20; Z ix.15, 42; xi.1-2; xv.7; xvii.7; W ii.1, 3, 7; iii.4 11, etc.
The Heb. term is 'edah. This is usually rendered 'synagogue by the Septuagint. The cognate Syriac
word was the technical term for 'the Church'; see Nestle, ZNTW, 1901: 263.
2. The Community is distributed over several 'encampments
Z vii.6; xii.22; xiii.4, 7, 13, 20; xiv. 3, 8-9; xix.2-3
As applied to the brotherhood at Qumran, the term not on! described their actual situation in the
Desert of Judah, but also defined them as the 'army of God' about to fight the apocalyptic war against
the forces of evil.
The building at Qumran is best regarded as the headquarters of the entire Brotherhood, possibly the
place where it met for those annual conventions described in The Manual of Discipline. Its library
would thus have comprised the literature of the entire movement, and not simply of a local 'chapter'.
3. The several 'chapters' are called 'communes' or 'cenobies'
(Heb. yahad).
M i.12, 16; ii 22, 24; vi.15, 24, 26; vii.6, 17, 18, 20, 23; viii.10, 11, 12, 16-17, 19, 22; ix.2, 5-6, 7, 10,
18-19; Z ix.39-40, 52-53, 70-71.
R. Marcus has pointed out (JBL 71 [1952], 207ff.) that Philo and Josephus use the comparable Greek
term koinonia in speaking of the Essenes.
4. Another term is 'the corporation' (Heb. hibbur). Z xii.8
Such corporations (Heb. haburoth) of Pharisees are often mentioned in Talmudic literature.
5. The Community constitute 'the Elect.
M viii 6 ('elect of favor'); H ii.13 ('elect of righteousness')
The title expressed the fact that they were indeed the 'chosen' of God, pledged to the Covenant (cp.
Isa. 65.9; Ps. 105.43, etc.). The title was adopted also by the early Christians: Mat. 24.22, 24; Mark
13.20, 22, 27; II Tim. 2.10; I Peter 1.1. Cp. also 'the elect of God', Luke 18.7; Rom. 8.33; Col. 3.12;
Titus 1.1.
The Mandaeans likewise call themselves 'the Elect': Lidzbarski, Mandaische Liturgien, 75, 106f.; id.,
Johannesbuch, ii, 69, 102, 221. So, too, among the Manichaeans, the true followers of Mani are
termed 'the Elect' (vicidagan).
6. They are 'those in the lot (portion) of God'.
M ii 2; W i 5; xiii.5; xvii.7
Cp Ignatius, Ad Eph., 3.8: 'that I may be found in the lot of the Christians at Ephesus'.
The opposite was 'those in the lot (portion) of Belial'.
7. They enjoy special 'illumination' and are designated 'Sons of Light'.
M i.9; iii.13, 24; W i.3, etc.; Z xiii.12 ('the portion of light'), LJ 8; RB i-iv.8; xii-xiii.7, 11.
The title was adopted also by the early Christians: Luke 16.8; John 12.36; I Thess. 5.5. Cp. also Enoch
108.11. Among the Mandaeans, 'sons of light' meant 'angels', with whom, indeed, the Illuminati
claimed association: Lidzbarski, Mand. Lit., 18.24, 36. Cp. also Montgomery, Aram. Incantation
Texts from Nippur (1913), i.9. Men predestined to eternal life were called likewise: Brandt, Mand.
Schriften, 13.9. 'Light' is a common designation of the Torah in Biblical and later literature: cp. Pss.
19.9; 119.105; Prov. 6.23; Test. Levi 19; TB Berachoth 17a; Ex. Rabbah §36, etc.
(a) The illumination is an 'enlightenment of the countenance'
H iii.3; iv.5, 27; ix.26-27; Blessings iv.27
Cp. Odes of Solomon 41.6, 'Let our faces shine in His light'. (cp. also ib., 36.3)
(b) It is called 'Light-Perfection' (Heb. Or-Tom).
H iv.6, 23; xviii.29
An imitation of the Biblical Urim and Thummim, interpreted as 'lights and perfections'.
The idea may have originated with the Assidaeans (Hasidim, 'pious ones') of the Maccabean age, and
have been based on Deut. 33.8-9.
On the concept of divine illumination, cp. John 1.19; Eph. 1.18; 3.9; Heb. 6.4; 10.22; II Cor. 3.4, 6.
For the idea in mysticism, cp. Jacopone da Todi, Lauda xci: 'Lume fuor di mesura Resplende nel mio
core' (A light immeasurable Shines in my heart); see Underhill, Mysticism, 249-50.
8. Members of the Community are 'Sons of Truth'.
M iv.5-6; H vi.29; vii.30; ix.35; x.27; xi.11; W vii.8
8a. It is described as 'the House of Truth'.
M v.6; viii.9
9. Forms of Revelation:
(a) The Community is the recipient of God's 'truth'.
H i.27; ii.10; v.9, 26; vii.24; ix.4, 9, 10; W xiii.9-10, 12
In Jewish tradition, this 'truth' is often identified directly with the Torah (Law). So, too, in Mandaean
thought, 'truth' (Kushta) is, virtually, mystic revelation; see W. Sundberg, Kushta (1953). In
Samaritan, the Verity' (Qushtah) is a common term for the Law.
See also: Rom. 15.8; Gal. 2.5.
(b) this 'truth' is an esoteric doctrine.
H v.11, 25; ix.24; cp. M iv.6
Cp. Odes of Solomon 8.11: 'Keep My secret, ye who are kept by it'.
For a similar concept among the Mandaeans, cp. Right Ginza, iii.13; Brandt, Mand. Religion, 168.
(c) God has 'opened the ears' of the faithful.
H i.21; vi.4
(d) God has engraved the 'truth' on their hearts.
H xviii.27
(e) they are especially 'schooled' by God.
H ii.39; vii.14
Derived from Isa. 54.13. Cp. John 6.45; I Thess. 4.9.
(f) they possess the 'vision' of knowledge (or understanding).
H iv.18
On vision in mystic experience, see Underhill, op. cit., 279ff.
(g) they drank from the fountain of knowledge.
H ii.18; iv.11; v.26; 'fount of light', H vi.17
Derived from Ps. 36.10. Cp. Odes of Solomon 6.7f.; 30.1-2; H Baruch 59.7; IV Ezra 14.47; Enoch
48.1. St. Francis of Assisi gives the mystic chalice to John of Parma and other brethren: Fioretti, cap.
48. Mechthild of Magdeburg speaks of 'drinking for a space of the unmingled wine': Flieszende Licht
der Gottheit, pt i, ch. 43. Blake declares, 'I am drunk with intellectual vision': Letters, ed. Brussel
(1906), 171. See Underhill, op. cit., 235.
(h) they share the transcendental knowledge of God and angels.
M iv.22 ('knowledge of the Most High'); cp. H ii.3
Cp. Odes of Solomon 23.4: 'Walk ye in the knowledge of the Most High'.
(i) they have direct access to God, need no intermediary
H vi.13
(k) they ascend to the 'height of eternity'.
H iii.20; Blessings v.23
Cp. the familiar mystic symbol of the 'ascent'; W. R. Inge, Mysticism in Religion (1948), 80-82.
(l) God's 'power' is manifested in them (Heb. higbir).
H i.34; ii.24; iv.8, 23, 27, 28; v.15; W xvi.1
'Power' (Heb. geburah) is a common synonym for God it Rabbinic literature.
10. The members of the Community are styled 'volunteers (Heb. mithnadebim).
M v.l, 6, 8, 10, 21, 22; vi.13; MiC x.5
The term has a military connotation (cp. Ju. 5.9) and thus suggests the idea of an 'army of God'—the
'Onward, Christian soldiers' concept
Cp. I Mace. 2.42 (of the Hasidim); Didascalia Apostolorum, init.
In the mystery religions, the brotherhood of the Initiants often regarded itself as a militia: F. Cumont,
Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism (1911), 213, n. 6.
11. The Community is called 'God's (eternal) plantation'.
H vi.15; viii.6, 10
Based on Isa. 60.21. Cp. Mishnah, Sanhedrin 1; Psalms of Solomon, 14.3-4; Enoch 93.2, 5, 10; Odes
of Solomon 38.18-21 Mandaean: Right Ginza, II.iv. init; Mand. Liturg., 149.190 179ff., Apostolic
Constitutions, init. Analogous is 'neophyte (KJV 'novice'; RSV 'recent convert') in I Tim. 3.6.
12. The Community forms one congregation with the celestial hosts ('communion of the saints').
M ii.25; xi.7-8; H iii.21; vi.14; xi.11-12; frag, ii.10
Cp. Enoch 43.104; Eph. 2.19.
13. Its members are driven from their native haunts.
H iv.8-9 ('like a sparrow from its nest')
Cp. Psalms of Solomon 17.15-16.
For an Iranian parallel, cp. Yasna 46.1: 'From nobles and from my peers they sever me, nor are the
people pleased with me, nor the rulers of the land who follow the lie (Druj)'.
14. They are dwelling in a desert, or in 'the land of Damascus'.
Z vi.15, 19; vii.19; viii.21a; xx.12; W i.2-3
Based on Amos 5.25-27; not to be taken literally. It is not necessary to suppose that there was an
actual migration from Qumran to Damascus, because this entire text may refer to an ideal community,
rather than to the specific brotherhood beside the Dead Sea!
Like all mystics, the Covenanters oscillate between a keen sense of God's nearness and a despair at
His seeming remoteness. Cp. John of the Cross, The Dark Night of the Soul, I ii, ch. 6: That which
this anguished soul feels most deeply is the conviction that God has abandoned it ... cast it away into
darkness ... It has also the same sense of abandonment with respect to all creatures, and that it is an
object of contempt to all, especially to its friends' (cp. H v.25f.).
15. They are being tested and proven.
M viii.4; H v.!6f.; W xvii.1, 9; Ps 37C, b4; F ii.1
They are exposed to 'snares of wickedness', H v.8; to 'snares of corruption', H iii.26.
Cp. Underhill, op. cit., 385: Trials, taken en bloc, mean a disharmony between the self and the world
with which it has to deal'.
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B. Government Of The Community
1. The formal Deliberative Council (Heb. 'esah).
M i.8, 10; ii.25; v.7; vi.12; vii.22; viii.5, 22; Z xx.24; MFC i-26, 27; ii.2, 9, 11
In the Syriac dialect of the early Christians of Palestine, the cognate term serves as the equivalent of
Greek synhedrion; cp. F. Schwally, Idioticon (1893), 41f. A. Dupont-Sommer (The Jewish Sect of
Qumran and the Essenes, 63) thinks that 'esah denoted the sect as a whole and that it may be the origin
of the name Essenes!
2. Officers:
(a) 'Leader (Prince) of the Entire Congregation',
Z viii.7, 20; Blessings; MFC; W v.l
Cp. I Mace. 14.27 (of Simon). Yadin thinks this is the equivalent of the term ethnarch.
(b) 'Overseer of All the Camps'.
Z xiv.8-9
Virtually, 'archbishop'-albeit in a primitive sense. The 'leader of the entire congregation' and 'the
overseer of all the camps' would have been officers of the entire fraternity.
(c) high priest
It is noteworthy that the high priest is mentioned only in texts concerned with the eventual state of the
Restored Community, e.g., in the War of the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness and in The
Manual of Discipline for the Future Congregation. This would suggest that the Brotherhood, while it
condemned the venality of the hierarchy at Jerusalem, did not appoint its own 'antipope'. In Z xiv.7
there is, to be sure, mention of a 'priest who supervises the general membership', but this is not a high
priest in the accepted sense, and it is significant that in M vi.14 the same officer is described simply as
'the supervisor' without reference to priestly status.
(d) priests
M i.18, 21; ii.l, 19; v.2; vi.3-4, 5, 8, 19; vii.2; viii.l; Z iii.21; iv.2; vii.1; ix.13, 15; xiii.2, 5, 7; xiv.3;
xvi.44; W passim
(e) priests are called 'sons of Zadok'
M v.2; ix.14; Z iv.1; Blessings iii.22, etc.
It is not the community as a whole but solely its priests that are described in the Scrolls as 'sons of
Zadok'. It derives directly from Ezek. 40.46; 43.19; 44.15; 48.11, and there is no need to look for a
'righteous teacher' named Zadok as the 'founding father' of the Brotherhood of Qumran in the days of
the Second Commonwealth.
(f) courses of priests
W ii.4
(g) 'the priest anointed for war'
W xv.16
Cp. Mishnah, Sotah VIII, 2.
(h) the 'teacher of righteousness (Heb. m6reh zedeq).
Z i.11; vi.11; xx.l, 28, 32; MC ii.5 (on 1.5); Comm, on Ps. 37.24; HC i.13 (on 1.4); iL2 (on 1.4-5);
v.10 (on 1.13); vii.4 (on 22); viii.3 (on 2.4); ix.10 (on 2.8); xi.5 (on 2.15); Ps 45C, 5.
The term means really 'the right guide', i.e., the true expounder of the Law; see General Introduction,
pp. 6, 29f. There is no need to assume that all references refer consistently to a single historical figure.
The title was later adopted by the Karaites. In Jewish usage, it is a common designation for a rabbi.
Indeed, it is related that when Isaac Bernays was appointed to the chief rabbinate of Hamburg in 1821,
he expressly rejected the title as having fallen into disrepute through repeated misuse! (i) teacher acts
as 'father' to the brethren
Z xiii.9; H vii.20
Cp. Apostolic Constitutions ii.6, 7.
(k) three priests at head of community
M viii.1ff.
Modelled on the organization of Israel in the wilderness; cp. General Introduction, p. 11. (1)
presbyters; the 'twelve perfect men'
M viii.1; Z [vii.5]; xx.25, 7
Modelled on the twelve tribal leaders during Israel's sojourn in the wilderness.
Cp. the Mandaean shalmana, Brandt, Mand. Religion, 74; Right Ginza, 3, etc. (Teleios in pagan
mystery cults probably had a different meaning; see O. Gruppe, Griech. My-thologie, 1616, n. 1.)
Note also that among the Waldenses, advanced members of the brotherhood were called 'the perfect',
(m) judges
Z x.l, 4; xiv.13; xv.4, 16; xvi.19
Ten in number (Z x.4). Hence, cp. the courts of ten in Temple law: Mishnah, Sanhedrin I, 3.
(n) levites
M i.19, 22; ii.4, 11; Z iii.21; iv.3; x.5; xiii.3; xiv.4; W passim
(o) 'messiahs' (anointed)
M ix.11; Z vii.21a; xii.23; xiii.20; xiv.19; MFC
The usual expression is 'messiahs (or, messiah) of Aaron and Israel'. This has led to all kinds of wild
speculation. But all it means is simply the anointed high priest and the anointed king'. (For 'messiah'
as applied to the high priest, cp. Lev. 4.3; Mishnah, Shebu'oth i.7; Horayoth ii.l, etc. As the title of the
king, cp. Ps. 18.51, etc.).
(p) 'overseer, inspector'
M vi.19-20; Z ix.18, 22; xiii.16, 17; xiv.11, 13; xv.14
Such 'overseers' served as executives of religious brotherhoods in Hellenistic times: cp. Inscr. Agora
63 IG, ii (2), 917 (181 B.C.); J. H. Oliver, in Amer. Journal of Philology 68 (1947), 148. Josephus
mentions a similar officer among the Essenes. (q) 'overseer of the camp'
Z xiii.7, 13
(r) 'overseer of the general membership (lit the many)'
M vi.12; Z xv.8
(s) 'inspector' (Heb. paqid)
Z xiii.11; xiv.6
It is not quite clear whether the 'overseer' (mebaqqer) or the 'inspector' (paqid) more closely answers
to the episkopos or 'bishop' of the early Church, for the Septuagint uses the Greek term to translate
both of the Hebrew words. For episkopoi in the mystery cults, see A. Thieme, Inschriften, 17f., 32f.
(t) 'interpreter'
H ii.13; H fr.ii.6. 9
Cp. I Cor. 14.28.
(u) 'expositor' (Heb. doresh)
M vi.6; Z vi.7; vii.18; F i.11
Cp. Mishnah, Yoma i.6; Josephus, BJ II, viii.6, 19; Ant., XIII v.9, on 'expositors' among the Essenes.
(v) 'instructor' (Heb. maskil)
M iii.13; ix.12, 21; Blessings LI; iii.22; v.20; Z xii.21; xiii.22
Cp. Dan. 12.3, 10.
Literally, 'one who imparts insight, intelligence'. (It is probable that in the Scrolls the word has a
causative sense, but it can also mean simply 'one who possesses insight'.)
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C. Laws And Practices
ablutions M iii.4f., 9; iv.21; v.13; Z x.10-13
atonement M viii.6-9; ix.4-14; H col. iv.
blasphemy M v.19; Z xv.1-5
calendar HI (=M x) 1-7
contamination Z xii.15-18
demoniacal possession Z xii.2-3
dietary laws Z xii.11-15
fraud M vii.6f.
lost property Z ix.11ff.
marriage Z iv.21-v.6
name of God M ii.6-7; Z xv.1-5
oath M v.8; Z ix.9-16
oath, abrogation of Z xv.6ff.
purity M vi. 16-22, 25; vii.3-16; viii.24
revenge M i.11; ii.6-9; iv.11; v.2-25; Z ix.2-8
sabbath Z X.14-xi.l8
sacrifices M ix.4-5
sanctuary, defilement of Z xi.l8-xii.2
slaves (servants) Z xii.11
testimony Z ix.17-x.3
vows M v.8; Z xvi.13
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D. Opponents Of The Brotherhood
1. Belial and his forces
M i.18, 23-24; Z iv.13, 15; v.18; viii.2; xii.2; W passim; RB passim.
Cp. Or. Sib., ii.165f.; Jubilees i.20; Testament of Reuben ii, of Levi, iii; of Zebulun, ix; of Naphtali, ii;
of Benjamin, vi; Called 'spirit of darkness': Test. Levi xix; Joseph vii, xx. Cp. also Mat. 24.5-12; II
Tim. 3.1f.; II Cor. 5.15; Didache 21.3.
2. 'Children of Corruption'
Z vi.15; xiii.14
Cp. Jub. 10.3; 15.26; John 17.12; II Thess. 2.3; Gospel of Nico-demus 20.
The expression may have been derived from Deut. 32.5. (Cp also Isa. 1.4.)
2a. 'Men of Corruption'
M ix.16, 22; x.19
3. 'Sons of Darkness'
M i.10; W i.l, 7, 10, 16; iii.6, 9; xiii.16; xiv.17, etc.
Cp. Montgomery, Aram. Incantation Texts from Nippur (1913), 16.7, where the epithet characterizes
demons (like Arabic jinn).
4. 'Builders of a rickety wall'
Z iv.19; viii.12, 18
Derived from Ezek. 13.10.
5. 'Prophets of deceit (delusion)'
H iv.10, 20
Cp. in Mandaean, Right Ginza II, i.107 (tr. Lidzbarski, p. 43)
6. 'False prophets'
H iv.16
Cp. Mat. 7.15; 24.11, 24; Mark 13.22; Luke 6.26; Acts 13.6 II Peter 2.1; I John 4.1. Mandaean, Right
Ginza H, i.107. H v.26: They that alter the works of God by propounding sinful mysteries'.
By 'prophets' the writers meant simply 'teachers', as in I Cor.12.28; 14.29.
7. 'Lying (deceitful) interpreters'
H ii.31; iv.9-10. Cp. also H ii.14
8. 'Seekers after smooth things'
H ii.15, 32; Z i.18; NaC 2, 7
9. 'The froward' (Heb. helka'im).
H iii.25-26; iv.25, 35
Derived from Ps. 10.10 (where, however, the meaning is uncertain).
10. 'Furtive men, dissemblers' (Heb. na'alamim).
H iii.28; iv.13; vii.34 Derived from Ps. 26.4.
11. Specific Opponents:
(a) 'Man of lies'
Z xx. 15; HabC ii.2; v.11
Rabin cps. II Thess. 2.3.
(b) 'Preacher of Lies'
Z viii.13
The Heb. means properly, 'Dribbler of lies', in reference to Mic. 2.6, 11.
(c) 'Man of Scoffing'
Z i.14; xx.11 (pl.)
Cp. Isa. 28.14; Prov. 29.8.
(d) 'Men of Scoffing who are in Jerusalem'
IsaC, b ii.6, 10; cp. Z xx.11
(e) 'House of Absalom'
HC v.9
For the interpretation, see above, p. 29.
(f) 'House of Peleg'
Z xx.22
A concocted name. Heb. p-l-g means 'divide'. Hence, the meaning is, 'devisive elements'.
(g) 'The Wicked Priest'
HabC viii.3; ix.9; xi.4
(h) 'The Lion of Wrath'
NaC 5, 6
Perhaps intended to convey the idea of 'the Lion of the Era of Wrath'; see below, E. 1.
Cp. Slavonic Enoch 56.5: They (the heathen kings) will break forth as lions from their lairs ... and go
up and tread under the land of the elect'.
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E. Past And Future
(Theory of History and Eschatological Doctrines)
1. History divided into 'Era of Wrath (Sin, Wickedness)' and 'Era of Favor'
(a) 'Era of Wrath'
Z i.5; H iii.28; frag, i.5; HosC, b i.12
Cp. Zeph. 1.5 ('Day of Wrath'), and cp. Talmud, B.B. 10a, Shab. Ha; Ab.Zar. 18b, for 'Wrath' as an
eschatological term. Cp. also Ecclus. 48.10.
(b) 'Era of Wickedness'
Z vi.10, 14; xii.23; xiv.19; xv.7, 10; xx.23 ('Era of Perfidy')
Cp. Enoch 22.12; 80.2.
(c) 'Era of Favor'
H xv.15; frag, ix.8; NC
Cp. Isa. 61.2 ('Year of favor'). The Samaritans likewise divide history into the 'Era of God's Turning
Away' (Fanutah) and that of His 'Favor' (Rahutah).
2. Requital:
(a) 'The Final Era' (Heb. qes).
M iii.23; iv.18, 25; Z iv.9, 10; xix.10; xx.15; HC vii.2
(b) 'Time of Visitation Inquisition' (Heb. pequdah)
M iii.18; iv.18-19, 26
(c) Final Judgment
M iv.20
(d) 'Day of Requital'
M is.23
Based on Deut. 32.35, read as in LXX and Samaritan text.
(e) Spirits and angels also will be judged
H vii.29
(f) 'Messianic Travail'
Hymn No. 5, passim
For the expression 'pangs of the Messiah', cp. Talmud, Shab. 118a; Sank 98b; Mat. 24.8; Mark 13.8-9;
I Thess. 5.3. Cp. also Enoch 62.4.
Described: Jubilees 20.11-25; Or. Sib. ii.154f.; II Esdras v-vi; Mat 24.6-29; Rev. chs. 6-9; Talmud,
Sanh. 96b 97a.
(g) Conflagration (Ekpyrosis)
H iii.29ff.; W xiv.17. Cp. also M ii.8
Cp. Mal. 3.19 (4.1); Dan. 7.10f.; Psalms of Solomon I5.14f.; Enoch 67.6; 98.3; 108.3; Test. Zebulun
2.38; Or. Sib., ii.253f., 296; iii.542, 689; iv.176; Luke 17.28; II Peter 3.6ff.; II Thess. 1.7f.; Rev.
19.20; 20.10, 14f.; 21.8. Berosus (quoted in Seneca, Nat Qu. ii.29, 1) predicted a final conflagration.
On non-Semitic parallels, cp. C. Clemen, Primitive Christianity and Its Non-Jewish Sources (1912),
161f.; M. Eliade, The Myth of the Eternal Return (1954), 87-88; R. Mayer, 1st die biblische
Vorstellung vom Weltenbrand eine Entlehnung aus dem Parsismus? (1947).
(h) Messianic Era of Forty Years
Ps 37C, a7
Cp. Apoc. Esdras xiii.23-25; Talmud, Sanh. 99a; Midrash Tehillim xc, §393. Possibly based on Ps.
95.10 (cp. Yalqut Shime'oni in loc.).
(i) War against Belial, Gog, etc.
H iii.35f.; vi.29ff.; x.34-35; W passim (especially, i.10, 13-14)
Cp. Test. Levi, v.27; of Dan. ii. 10-11; John 12.31; II Cor. 6.15.
Gog and Magog: Isa. 25.6; Zech. 14.2. Cp. Or. Sib. iii.319, 519, 632f.; v.101; Syriac Apoc. Baruch
70.7-10; Pal. Targum to Num. 9.6; 24.17; Enoch 56; 90.16; Assum. Mosis 8.Iff.; II Esdras 5.6;
13.33f.; Mishnah, 'Eduyoth ii.10. The basic notion occurs already in Theopompus quoted by Plutarch,
De Is., 47.
ablution after victory W xiv.3
cavalry W vi.g-17
exhortation before battle W xv.6ff.
prayer before battle W x.2-xiv.2
Prayer, high priest's, before battle W xv.4-6
priests, role of W vii.9fL
song of return W xlv.2
song of victory W xiv.2-18
standards, military W iii.12-v.2
testudo ('tower') W ix.l0ff.
troops, age of W vii.1-9
trumpets W col.iii.
trumpet signals W vii.9-ix.9
weapons, described W v.2-vi.6
(k) Other Disasters:
(i) shafts of perdition loosed H iii.16, 27
(ii) doors of perdition opened H iii.18; vi.24
(iii) traps of perdition sprung H iii.24
(iv) dispersal of wicked H iv.26
3. Rewards:
(a) Renewal (Rebirth) of the World
M iv.25; H xf.13-14; xiii.11-13
Cp. Test Abraham; Jubilees i.29; Enoch. 72.1; IV Ezra 5.45; Mat 19.28; Jewish 'Burial Kaddish';
Manichaean: F. W. K. Muller, Handschriftenreste, ii.15 (employing the Iranian term frasagard).
Renewal (rebirth) is also an element of mystical experience; cp. George Fox, Journal, ed. N. Penny
(1911), I, ch. ii. 'Now was I come up in spirit through the Flaming Sword into the Paradise of God. All
things were new'.
(b) Eternal Peace
M ii.4; H xi.27; xv.16; xviii.30; Blessings iii.5, 21
(c) Sevenfold Light
H vii.24-25
Cp. Talmud, Sanhedrin 91b (sevenfold Messianic sun); Midrash Konen 24-25 (based on Isa. 30.26).
Cp. also Isa, 60.19; Rev. 21.23, 25; 22.6; Odes of Solomon, 21.5; Slav. Enoch 66.8.
(d) Prophetic Forerunner of Messianic Age
M ix.11; RB, passim; WC, passim. Based on Deut. 18.18 and Mal. 3.23ff. (Cp. Ecclesiasticus 48.10.)
Samaritans identify him with Moses Redivivus; Jews, with Elijah (Talmud, Menahoth 45a; B.M. 3a;
Aboth de Rabbi Nathan 24.4).
Cp. I Mace. 14.41; 4.46; Mat. 11.14; 17.10ff.; Mark 9.11f.; John 1.45; 5.46; 6.14; 7.40; Acts 7.37;
Rev. 11.3ff. Often alternates with priestly forerunner. (Note that both Moses and Elijah were priests.)
Cp. Test Levi, v.13-20; Heb. 3.1; 4.15ff.; 5.4, 10; 6.20.
(e) Messianic 'Star'
Z vii.18
Based on Num. 24.17. Cp. Test. Levi, v.15; Judah, iv.20; Samaritan Liturgy, ed. Cowley, ii.88; Heh
10; 92.17; 96.32 (all by Abisha b. Pinehas, d. 1376).
(f) 'Faithful Shepherd' will arise
NC 3, 2, 8
Based on Isa. 63.11. Cp. Heb. 13.20. 'Shepherd of souls': I Peter 2,25. Cp. also John 10.11, 14; I Peter
5.4. Enoch 90.17-27 speaks of God as the Master Shepherd who will deliver his flock from the
seventy evil shepherds.
(g) New Covenant will be concluded
NC 2, 6
Based on Jer. 31.32-33. For the true meaning, see above, pp. 4, 23. The Covenant will be inscribed on
human hearts: H xviii.27. Cp. Jer. 31.33; Rom. 2.14f. (Stoic parallel adduced in Feine, Der
Romerbrief [1903], 95ff.)
(h) God records deeds of men for reward or punishment
H i.23-24; xvi.l0; RB v-vi.11.
Cp. Dan. 7.10; II Esdras 6.20; Rev. 20.12; Slavonic Enoch 50.1; Odes of Solomon 9.12; Apoc. Baruch
24.1. Rabbinic parallels in L. Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, v.128, n. 141.
Iranian parallel: Yasna 31.13-14; 32.6 (record kept by Ahura Mazda).
(i) Righteous will acquire crown of glory
M iv.7; H ix.24
Odes of Solomon 9.11; I Peter 5.4; Mandaean: Lidzbarski, Mand. Lit., 4f., 29, 108, 177, 243, 267.
Initiants in mystery cults sometimes received a crown: Apuleius, Met. xi.24; Tertullian, Cor. 15a;
Praescr. haer. 40. Was this a prefiguration of the heavenly crown which awaited them?
(j) Righteous will acquire robe of majesty
M iv.8
Cp. Enoch 62.16; Slavonic Enoch 22.8.
(k) Righteous will unite in triumphant song
H xi.5, 14, 26
Cp. TB Sanhedrin 19b: 'All the prophets will then intone a song in concert'; Yalqut, Isa. 296.
Iranian parallel: Bundahesh 31.
(1) Future Community will be the true temple of God
M viii.5f.; F i.6
Cp. I Cor. 3.16-17; Eph. 2.20-22. Cp. also Heb. 8.2; Barnabas, 3.12.
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F. Angelology
See in general the writer's article, 'Angel' in The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible.
1. General names for angels:
(a) 'divine being'
Heb. elim: H x.8; frag, ii.3, 10; W i.10, 11; xiv.15, 16; xv.14; xvii.7; Oration iv.l; AL (a) 2, 5, 10
Heb. elohim: AL (b) 5, 7
(b) 'holy ones'
Z xx.8; H iii.22; iv.25; x.35; xi.12; W xii.4, 7, 8; xviii.2; Oration iv.l, etc.
Cp. Enoch, passim.
(c) 'host of heaven'
H iii.35; W vii.6; xii.l, 8, 9
(d) 'host of the holy ones'
H iii.22; x.34-35. Cp. 'host of angels', W xii.8
(e) 'eternal host'
H xi.13
(f) 'communion of the holy ones'
H iv.25; frag, lxiii.2
Derived from Ps. 89.8(7).
(g) 'sons of heaven'
H iii.22; frag, ii.10; W iv.22; xi.8
Cp. Enoch 6.2; 13.8; 14.3.
(h) 'stalwarts' (Heb. gibbore koah)
H viii.11; x.34-35. (Cp. W v.21; iii.35-36; AL (a) 5)
Derived from Ps. 103.20.
(i) 'glorious ones'
H x.8
Cp. Enoch 24.6 (Charles); Slavonic Enoch 21.3; 22.9.
2. Classes of angels:
(a) seven archangels
AL (a). Called 'arch-princes'; cp. Ezek. 38.2; 39.1.
Cp. Tobit 12.15; Enoch 20.1-8; 21; 81.5; 90.21-22; Test. Levi 8.1; Luke 1.19, 26; Rev. 1.4; 8.2;
Hermas, Sim. 9.31; Hechaloth, c.iv.
(b) 'angels of the presence'
H vi.13; Blessings iv.25-26; AL (b) 1
Cp. Enoch 104.1; Slavonic Enoch 21.1; Jubilees 1.27, 29; Test. Levi 3.5, 7, and very frequently in
rabbinic literature.
(c) 'ministering angels'
H v.21; xii.23; xv.24; frag, ii.14; AL (a) 1
Cp. Heb. 1.14. The morning Yoser-prayer in the Jewish liturgy mentions the 'holy ones' and the
'ministering angels' as standing 'at the crest of the world', singing praises and 'receiving each from
each the yoke of the kingdom of heaven' (Singer, p. 38).
(d) 'angels of sanctification'
M vii.6; x.11; H i.11; Oration ii.8; Blessings iii.6; AL (a)
(e) Cherubim AL (a)
Derived directly from Ezek. 10. Cp. also Enoch 14.16-17; 71.7; Slavonic Enoch 21.1.
3. Particular angels:
(a) Prince of Lights M iii.20
(b) Angel of Darkness M iii.20-21
(c) Angel of Truth M iii.24
(d) Mastemah Z iv. 13; v. 18; vii.2; xvi.5
Cp. Jubilees 49.2. The name is related to Satan.
4. Protective angels:
(a) Gabriel W ix.16
Cp. Ginzberg, Legends, v.21. Origen. De princip., i.81, says that Gabriel is the angel of war.
(b) Michael M ix.15, 16; xvii.6, 7
Cp. Dan. 10.21; Rev. 12.7; Jude 9; Ginzberg, op. cit., v.4.
(c) Raphael M ix.15
(d) Sariel (or Uriel) W ix.15
Gabriel and Michael are mentioned also in a fragmentary text from Qumran provisionally entitled The
Book of Noah; D. Barthelemy and J. T. Milik, Discoveries in the Judean Desert, I (1955), 84-86.
5. Angels possess transcendental knowledge
M iv.22; H iii.23; frag, xiii.23; AL (a) 1
Cp. Slavonic Enoch 22.11; TB Hagigah 16a. Michael, Uriel and Raguel initiate Enoch into the
'mysteries of the world': Jubilees 4.21; Enoch 40.4-5. Michael tells Adam and Eve the mysteries of
creation: Apoc. Mosis 3.13.
6. Angels sing praises in heaven
H ix.13; AL (a) passim
They sing the Trisagion: Isa. 6.2-3; cp. Enoch 39.12f.; Slavonic Enoch 8.8; 17.1; 19.6; 20.3; 21.1;
22.3; 31.If.; 42.4; TB Hullin 14a. See also S. Baer, Abodath Israel, 120; Apoc. Paul, 10.
On the liturgy of the angels, cp. Apoc. Mosis 17; Test. Abraham B, iv; Pal. Targum, Gen. 32.27; Ex.
14.24; S. Singer, Authorized Daily Prayerbook, 38, 45, 160.
7. Angels participate in the eschatological war
H iii.35f.; vi.29f.; x.34-35; W xv.14
Based on Zech. 14.3, 5. Cp. also Test. Levi 1.19
8. Evil Spirits:
(a) 'angels of destruction'
M iv.12; Z ii.6; W xiii.12; xiv.10
Cp. Enoch 53.3; 56.1; TB Shabbath 88a, and often. The Samaritans speak similarly of 'angels of
perturbation' (mala'che rigzah).
(b) 'solans'
H frags, iv.6; xlv.3; Blessings i.8
(c) 'ruinous spirit (Heb. mashhith)
H frags, iv.6; xlv.3
Derived from Ex. 12.13, as popularly interpreted.
14 - Biblical Quotations And Parallels
This index is intended to serve as a tool for those who may wish to trace the main Biblical parallels to
the Scrolls. It is therefore geared to the columns and lines of the original texts, even though these have
been indicated in the translations only by sections.
In the case of the Old Testament, the parallels are verbal, representing direct quotations woven into
the texts. In that of the New Testament, however, what is usually involved is a correspondence of
ideas and concepts, though in certain instances verbal identity is also to be found.
An interesting feature of the Old Testament parallels is that there is no quotation from the Book of
Esther, the one book of Scripture that has not yet turned up among the Qumran fragments.
Parallels which depend on restoration of the text are indicated by asterisks.
Genesis
1.2 W xvii.4
1.4 MH 4
1.18 MH 4
I.27 Z iv.21
3.24 H viii.12
5.1-31 ET i.2
6.1-4 ET i.3-4
7.9 Z v.l
7-11 Pl vii.7-8
II.10-26 ET i.2-3
12-7 ET iv.5-6
17-8 ET iii.1-3
17-14 LI, i3
18.2, 20 ET iv.3
18.19 M i.5
19.1, 5 ET iii.4-8
22.11, 15 ET iv.3
25.1-5 W ii.13
32.3 AL a 7
38.14 WH 12
39.6 D 5
40.10 WW 3
42.23 H vi.13
49.8 W xii.11
49.18 C 9
Exodus
4.22 Pl iii.6
6.12, 30 H xi.5
15.10 H viii.19
15.11 H viii.28
19.18 H ix.5
20.13, 16, 19 RB i-iv, 14
21.8 H v.5
23.7 M v.15
33.7 Inv. 20
34.6 H i.16; xvi.6
Leviticus
12.8 H fr. ii.13
13.6, 17 PG 13
13.51 H v.28
14.43 PG 13
14.48 PG
16.30 H fr. ii.13
17.7 M L6
18.13 Z v.9
19.17 Z vii.2
19.18 Z vi.20; vii.5
23.28 Z xi.18
26.4 HT 1.4
26.5 Pl vi.7
26.15 Pl vi.7
26.21, 23 M i.25-26
26.24, 27, 40, 41 Pl vi.6
26.40 Pl vi.5-6
26.41 Pl vi.5
26.44 Pl v.7
26.45 Z i.4; Pl v.9-10
Numbers
4.13 Inv. 11
4.32 W ii.5
5.14, 30 H H.15
6.9 C 1
6.24-26 M ii.2-4
8.21 H fr. ii.13
10.9 W x.6-8
10.35 C 13
(Targ. Onqelos)
11.4 RB x-xi.5
14.9 Sp. 13-14
14.17 Pl ii.7
14.19-20 Pl ii.7
14.22 RB i.7
21.18 Z vi.23
24.8 W xii.11
24.17 W vii.19-20; xi.6-7
24.18 W xi.6-7 30.17 Z vii.9; viii.2
Deuteronomy
1.43 Pl ii.18
4.29 Pl ii.13
5.12 Z x.16
5.29 M i.15
6.5 M v.9; C 1
6.6-7 H iv.9
6.18 M i.2
7.12 Blessings
7.21-22 W x.l
8.5 Pl iii.6-7
8.10 Inv. 13
9.5 Z viii.14
9.8 Pl ii.18
9.19 Pl ii.8
9.23 Z iii.7
10.12 Pl ii.13
II.13 Pl ii.13
11.17 HT 1.4
12.28 M i.2
14.1 Pl iii.4-5
14.2 Pl iii.9
15.2 LJ 3
17.11 M i.15
17.17 Z v.2
17.20 M i.15
20.3 W x.2-5; xv.8
20.4 W x.2-5
23.24 Z xvi.6
26.7 Pl vi.11-12
26.15 W xii.2
28.12 Blessings
28.15 M i.15
28.20 L I, i.2
28.28 Pl ii-14
29.17(18) H iv.14
29.18(19) M ii.13-14
30.2, 8 Pl V.13
30.3-4 Pl v.11-12
(*)30.19 L I. i.2
(*)31.14 L I. i-2
31.21 Pl iii-12
(*)31.26 cp. L I, i2
(*)31.28 cp. L I, i.2
31.29 PI iii-13, 17
32.22 H iii.31; xvii.13
32.24 H v.27
32.33 Z viii.9; H v.10, 27
32.35 (Sam., LXX)
HI 19 (=M x.19);
W vii.22; LJ 15
33.28 HT 1.3
34.42 W xii.11-12; xix.4
Joshua
1.7 M i.15
23.6 M i.15
Judges
5.12 W xii.10
13.8 H fr. i.2
Ruth
2.20 Sp 6
I Samuel
1-27 PG 3
2-3 M iii.15; H i.26;
(*)H fr. iii.12; iv.15
4-19 H iii.7
6-18 H iii.7
6-21 RB i.12
9.6 D7
13.14 D 7
16.7-12 D 1-7
16-21 Ex I-II, i.12
25-29 H ii.20
II Samuel
I.19, 25 W xii.11
7.8 Pl iv.7
17.20 Ex I-II, i.12
22.5 H ix.3-4
22.6 H iii.19
I Kings
5.18 Pl iv.12-13
8.38-39 PG 2
II Kings
19.3 H iii.8
24.2 W i.l
I Chronicles
16.27 MH 2
28.18 AL a 12
29.15 RB i.8, 12, 13
II Chronicles
6.29 PG 2
II.2 Pl iv.7
14.1 M i.2
(*)20.6 H fr. iii.12
(*)29.15 Ex I-II, i.13
30.7 PG 2
30.27 W xii.2
31.20 M i.2
Ezra
9.8 H vi.8; W xiii.8
9.9 H vi.8
10.2 H iii.20
Nehemiah
2.11 RB xiv.3
4.6 RB i.7
5.5 L I, i.l
Job
1.10 H ii.21
3.3 H iii.19
3.5 H v.34
3.10 H xi.l, 19
4.7 C 22
(*)8.7 Ex I-II, i.13
8.9 Ex I-II, i.13
8.12 Ex I-II, i.10
8.13 C 10
9.16 PG 17
9.18 H xi.19
10.21 WH 11
12.10 Sp 3
14.19 C 10
(*)15.8 H x.4-5
16.22 WH 11
18.9 H fr. iii.8;
(*)RB v-vi.6
19.3 RB i.7
25.6 H vi.34
27.4 WH 2
29.10 H v.31
30.3 H v.30; ix.6
30.9 H ii.11
31.22 H vii.2; viii.33
33.6 HI 48 (=M xi.22)
33.24 WH 11
33.30 M iii.7
34.22 Ex II.6-7
38.7 MH 5
38.17 WH 10
38.27 H v.30; ix.6
39.23 H ii.26
41.23(31) H iii.15
Psalms
1.4 H vii.23
3.5-6 PG 17
3.17 H fr. iii
5.12 Sp 5
6.2-3 RB xii-xiii.2-3
6.8 H v.34
(*)7.3 L I, i.9
7.7 W xiv.16
9.2 H iii.23
9.6 H ii.29
9.9 C 10
(*)10.9 WH 11
10.10 H iii.25
11.1-2 RB v-vi.7-8
11.6 H v.30
12.7 H v.16; RB x-xi.1
13.2-3 RB ix-x.10
16.3 RB xiv.2
17.5 WH 3
17.6 PG 3
(*)18.4 H v.38-39
18.5 H iii.28, 29
18.6 H iii.8
18.40 W i.3
19.14 H iii.21
20.4 Inv. 11
20.9(8) H iv.22, 36
22.15(14) H vii.4
22.27 HT 1.5
24.8 W xii.9
25.5 Sp 17
25.7 PG 12
25.20 PG 20
26.7 H iii.23
26.11 H ii.30
27.14 Sp 12 (cp. Targum)
28.4 L I, i.4
29.5 H fr. iii
30.10 WH 11
31.3 PG 3
31.10(9) H v.34
31.13(12) H iv.9
31.22 H fr. v.8-9
35.5 H vii.23
35.7 Pl vii.7-8;
H fr. iii.4
35.7-8 H ii.29
36.7 Pl vii.7-8
36.8 Sp 12
37.2 W xv.11
37.14 WH l4
37.23 H xv.13
37.39 Inv. 17
40.3 H v.20; vii.8
40.18 PG 19
41.10 (9) H v.23
42.5 AL a 2
42.6, 12(11) H viii.29
42.7 H viii.32
43.5 H viii.32
44.14 WH 1-2
46.7 H vi.7
48.12 W xii.13; xix.5
(*)50.22 L I, i.9
51.4 Sp 13
51.10 H ii.5
51.19(17) M viii.3
54.5 H ii.21
55.9 H fr. iii.6
55.16 H vi.28
56.14(13) M iii.7
57.2(1) Sp 12
57.3 H v.10
57.5 H v.6-7, 10
57.6, 12 W xii.18
58.6(5) H v.27-28
59.4 H fr. iii.15
59.8 H v.10
64.4 H v.13
65.12 MH 6
67.4 Inv. 19
67.7 HT 1.4
68.6 W xii.2
68.21 WH 3
69-15 H v.20
69-22 H iv.11
69-35 HT H.1
69-37 Sp 5
70.16 PG 19
(*)74.21 RB xii-xiii.3
78.7 WH 15
78-21 L I, ii.1
78.70-71 D 7
79.4 WH 1-2
82.1 LJ 9
82.3 H ii.24
84.11 Ex H.4-5
86.1 PG 3
86.14 H ii.21
88.4 H viii.29
88.6 cp. H viii.29
89.8(7) H iv.25
89.14 HT II.4
89.15 MH 3
91.3 Ex H.5
92.3 Sp 9
92.10 HT H.5
92.11 H vii.22
94.17 WH 7
96.6 MH 2
97.2 MH 3
102.5 PG 17
102.6 H ix.4
102.10(9) H v.34
103.4 Sp 8
103.6 Sp 7
103.15 RB i.11
104.35 cp. HT L2
105.27 Ex I-II, i.15
105.28 Ex H.3
106.15 PG 3
106.22 Ex I-II, i.15
106.43 C 15
107.11 Ex n.3
107.16 H v.37
107.25 H fr. iii.6
107.27 H iii.14-15
107.29 H v.18
108.6 W xii.18
112.6 C 1
115.17 WH 7
116.3 H iii.28
(*)116.16 H xi.32
118.15 H xii.3
119.1 M iv.22; AL b 6
119.7 PG 9
119.34 PG 9
119.50 RB v-vi.5-6
119.115 WH 15
119.132 Sp 5
120.1 PG 17
120.4 H v.13
122.3 Inv. 4, 13
137.6 H v.31
138.3 H xii.l
139.6 H vii.8
139.12f. Ex II.6-7
140.4 H v.13
142.4 H fr. iii.4
142.5 L I, i.13-14
143.2 PG 8
144.8 PG 9
145.5 PG 10
148.8 H fr. iii.6
148.13 HT 1.1
Proverbs
I.16 WH 3
2.16 H iv.7; WH 2
2.19 WH 2
3.17 H fr. iii.3
3.20 HT 1.3
4.11 WH 17
4.24 H v.24
4.26 H vii.31
(*)5.5 WH 10
6.19 H v.23-24
6.20 WH 15
7.5 H iv.7; WH 2
7.9 WH 2
7.15 WH 1
7.27 H x.34
8.3 WH 12
8.22 WH 8
9.14 WH 10
10.7 C 1
10.28 C 10
II.7 C 10
12.1 H ii-14
14.22 WH 9
15.8 Z xi.20
15.11 H iii.19
16.1 H ii.7
16.9 HI 36 (=M xi.10)
16.31 WH 15
20.24 H xv.13
20.27 Ex HI.12
21.10 H iv.13
28.10 WH 14
29.5 H fr. iii.4
29.27 WH 15
Ecclesiastes
7.22 C 15
10.18 M iv.9
Isaiah
(*)1.26
2.3 , Inv. 19
2.19, 21 Ex I-II, i.15
2.22 M v.17
5.2 H viii.22
5.6 H viii.25
(*)5.29 L I, i.9
(*)6.3 H xvi.3
6.10 H vii.2
6.13 RB xii-xiii.5
7.17 Z vii.II; xiv.l
8.11 LJ 24
9.5 H iii.10
(*)10.3 Ex II.8
11.12 RB xii-xiii.11
13.4 H vi.7
14.1 C 8
14.4 H iii.25
14.11 WH 5
(*)16.7 L 11.10
17.11 H v.28; viii.9
17.13 H vii.23
19.8 H iii.26; v.8
19.14 H vi.23
24.17 Z iv-14
24.21 H fr. v.12
26.1 H iii.27
26.3 M iv-5
26.6 H vii.8
26.16 Pl v.16-17
27.11 H ii.19
28.11 H iii.18-19; iv.16
28.15, 18 H vi.35
28.16 M viii.7; H vi.26
28.17 H iii.27; viii.22
29.24 HI 27 (=M x.l)
30.2 Sp 12
30.7 W i.11-12
30.7-8 Ex H.4
30.10 H ii.15
30.17 H vi.34
30.18 AL a 7
30.30 H ii.27
31.8 W xi.11-12
32.2 Inv. 17
32.14 H vii.9
33.14 WH 7
34.9 H iii.31
35.4 H ii.9; v.21-22
35.6 (adapted) W xiv.6
35.7 H viii.4
37.5 H iii.8
37.17 PG 3
37.30 RB v-vi.2
38.10 WH 10
38.17 H iii.19
38.18-19 Sp 1-2
40.3 M viii.14; ix.19
40.6-7 Ex I-II, i.10
40.17 Pl iii.3; H fr. iii.10
40.22 WH 7
40.24 H viii.23
41.12 Ex I-II, i.12
41.14 H xi.12
41.19 H viii.5
41.24 H ii.28
42.1 M viii.6
42.13 H ix.3
42.14 (adapted) H iii.12
43.3 NC i.5
43.23-24 Pl v.19
44.3 Pl v.15
44.18 H iv.23
45.2 H v.37
(*)45.17 H i.10; (*)Ex 11.12
48.17 Pl v.20-21
49.10 H viii.4
49.18 H ix.36
49.23 W xii.14-15
50.1-2 Pl ii.15; Sp 10
50.3 H v.31
50.4 H vii.10; viii.36
50.5 C 8
51.6 W xv.10
51.7 Z LI; Pl ii.13
51.12 RB i.11
51.13 Pl v.18
52.7 LJ 16
54.6 L II.6
54.16 Z vi.8
55.4 D 7
56.1 H v.12; C 2
56.3 C 8
56.8 SB xii-xiii.11
57.20 H ii.12-13;
iii.32; viii.15
58.9 HI 27 (=M xi.l)
58.11 H viii.16
59.7 WH 7
59.8 H ii.27-28
(*)59.12 L I, i.15
59.20 HI 20 (=M x.20)
60.7 Pl iv.12
60.11 W xii.13-14; xiv.6
60.20 H vii.25
60.21 H xviii.14
61.1 H xviii.14; LJ 1
61.2 *H xviii.15; LJ 9
61.13 LJ 19
(*)63.2, 3, 6 RB i-iv.15
63.15 HI 3 (=M x.3);
H iii.34; W xii.1
64.10 Pl iv.12
66.7 H iii.9
66.10 C 9
66.11 C 5
66.24 H xiii.16
Jeremiah
3.17 M i.6
4.19 H fr. iv.13
4.31 H iii.7
6.8 L I, i.12-13
(*)9.10 L I, i.11-12
10.12-13 MH 7-9
(*)10.22 L I, i.11-12
10.23 HI 36 (=M xi.10)
(*)14.7 L I, i.15
14.8 Inv. 17
14.22 Pl vi.14
15.4 M ii.6
15.11 Inv. 17
(*)16.9 H ii.2
17.3 Pl viii.24
(*)17.18 H viii.17; x.25-26
18.18 RB xii-xiii.1
18.22 H fr. iii.4
(*)20.9 H viii.30
21.8 Ex II. 1-2
23.22 RB i-iv.7
25.31 Z i.14
30.7 Inv. 17
31.11 H ii.35
31.22 H xiii. 11-12
32.19 H i.5; xvi.8
33.6 RB x-xi.4
33.8 Sp 13
(*)34.22 L I, i.11-12
34.23 NC ii.8
42.18 H iii.28
47.2 H viii.17
47.6 H v.14-15
(*)48.6 H viii.24
48.26 H fr. iv.13
(*)48.31 L II.10
49.32 W xii.12
51.15-16 MH 7-9H
Lamentations
1.1 L n.4, 5
(*)1.2 L II.9
1.3 H fr. iii.4
1.4 L I, i.II
1.7 W i.6
(*)1.15 L I, i.14-15
(*)2.18 H xi.19
3.9 H v.25
3.10 WH 11
3.22 C 2
3.40 Ex H.I
(*)4.2 H iii.6
4.3 L I, ii.4
(*)4.5 L I, ii.6-7
Ezekiel
1.27 AL a 4
4.5 Z i.6
7.17 H iv.33-34
10.1 AL a 2
10.9, 11 AL a 3
II.17 RB xii-xiii.11
11.19 H xviii.26
14.3, 4, 7 M ii.12; H iv.5
16.10-13 L I, ii.12
18.31 Pl vi.2
19.5 C 10
20.28 RB ix.3
20.34-36 RB v-vi.4
20.35 W i.3
21.3 (20.47) H iii.29-30
21.8 RB ix.8
21.8, 9, 13 RB i-iv.16
21.12(7) H iv.33-34
22.4-5 Pl vi.13
23.46 M ii.4
26.21 Ex I-II, i.12
28.23 MH 1
31.6 cp. H viii.8
31.14 H viii.5-6
34.27 HT 1.4
35.8 W xv. 1
36.3 H ii.l; Sp 14
36.26 H xviii.26
37.11 C 10
38.10 (39.1)
AL b 1,3,5,7,10
38.16 W xii.9
38.23 W xi.15
39.10 W xii.10
44.15 Z iii.21-iv.2
Daniel
4.9 cp. H viii.8
4.13, 17, 23 MP ii.l
7.15 MP ii.10
9.7 H xvi.9; Pl vi.3
9.24 C 16
9.26 LJ 18(7)
9.27 H iii.36
10.5(6) H iii.7
11.15 Ex I-II, i.8
11.34 RB i-iv.16
11.35 RB v-vi.3;
x-xi.10
12.1 Pl vi.14
(*)12.2 ET ii.5-6
12.10 RB v-vi.3; ix.3;
x-xii.10
Hosea
2.17 W x.9
3.4 Z xx.16
4.14 H ii.19; iv.7
4.16 Z i.13
5.5 (Targum) Sp 14
5.8 RB i-iv.13
5.10 Z v.20; viii.3
6.3 H iv.5
(*)9.11 RB v-vi.11
9.16 PG 14
10.8 H viii.25
12.15 H xi.19
14.2 Sp 14
14.3 (LXX) H i.28
14.5 H xiv.26; xv.10
Joel
2.6 H fr. iii
2.20 RB xii-xiii.8
Amos
2.14 W xix.11
3.9 H iii.25
5.11 C 4
5.16 (adapted) H xi.14
5.26-27 Z vii.14
7.4 Pl vii.7-8
9.11 Z vii.16
Obadiah
21 W Vi.16
Jonah
2.6 H iii.18
2.8 H viii.29
4.8 H vii.5
Micah
1.4 H iv.34
2.10 H iii.8
2.12 RB xii-xiii.8
6.8 M iv.5; v.4; viii.2
7.2 Z xvi.15
7.19 H xvii.15
Nahum
1.2 Z ix.15
1.6 H iii.28
1.11 H vi.21
2.1 HT H.3
2.2 H ii.6
Habakkuk
1.4 H iv.25
2.1 H vii.29; H fr. iv.5
2.3 (LXX) H v.27
2.15 H iv.10-11
Zephaniah
1.15 H v.30; ix.6
2.15 LJ i.9; C 8
3.4 RB i-iv.7
Zechariah
2.15 C 8
2.17 W xii.2; PG 2
3.2 H fr. iv.6
3.8 H vii.21
7.14; 9.8 Pl v.6
12.6 W xi.10
(*)13.1 WH 2
Malachi
1.4 H ii.7; iii.24
I.10 Z vi.13
Matthew
3.3 M viii.14
3.11 M iii.7-8
5.33-37 cp. M v.8
7.13 M iii.18
10.1 Sp 15
11.14 M ix.11
12.43 Sp 15
17.10 M ix.11
18.8 M ii.7
19.28 M iv.25
24.8 H v, passim
24.22, 24 M viii.6; H ii.13
Mark
1.8 M iii.7-8
1.23 Sp 15
3.11,30 Sp 15
5.2, 8,13 Sp 15
6.7 Sp 15
9.11ff. M ix.11
9.25 Sp 15
9.43 M ii.7
13.8 H v, passim
13.20,22,27 M viii.6;
H ii.13
Luke
3.16 M iii.7-8
4.35-36 Sp 15
6.18 Sp 15
8.29 Sp 15
9.42 Sp 15
11.24 Sp 15
16.8 M i.10
17.28 H iii.29f.
18.7 M viii.6; H ii.13
John
1.3 HI 20 (=M xi.1-2)
1.9 H iv.6; xviii.29
1.21 M ix.11
1.23 M viii.14
1.33 M iii.7-8
3.21 M i.5; v.3
4.4 H ii.18; v.26; viii.4, 7
5.46 M ix.11
6.14 M ix.11
7.40 M ix.11
8.23
HI 27-28 (=M xi.5-6)
8.31 M i.10; v.10
8.42 M iv.9
10.11,14 NC
12.31 W i.5; xiii.1-2;
xv.10-12; xvii.5; xviii.3
12.36 M i.10
12.43 M iv.23; H xviii.15
14.7 Z xx.10
17.22 WC 3; Z iv.15
20.22 M iv.20f.
Acts
1.5 M iii.7-8
2.17 M iv-21
2.42 M vi-3
4.32 M vi-2
4.34 M i.11f.
5.16 Sp 15
7.37 M ix.11
7.42-43 Z vii.14
10.45 M iii.6-7
Romans
1.24 H ii.16-19; v.36
I.29 M ix.11
2.7 M iv.6-7
2.14f. H xviii.27
2.19 M i.10
8.17 M ii.2
8.33 M viii.6; H ii.13
II.4-5 Z i.4; ii.11
I Corinthians
2.6 M viii.1
2.7 M i.20f. 2.9-10
HI 31-34 (=M xi.5-8)
3.9 H vi.15; viii.6,10
3.13,15 H iii.29f.
3.16-17 M ix.6;
HI 34 (=M xi.8)
6.3 H x.34-35
6.9 M iv.11
10.16-17 MFC 17-21
14.15 HI 9 (=M x.9)
14.21 H iv.16
14.28 M vi.6
15.24 M iv.16-17,25;
Z vi.9; vii.8
HabC vii.2, 12
II Corinthians
3.2 H xviii.27
5.1 M ii.25
6.14 M iii.19ff.; H vi.19
6.17 M iv.15
11.14 Z v.18; M iii.20
Galatians
3.29 M iv.11
5.19 M ii.2
6.1 M iii.23
Ephesians
1.3 HI 29 (=M xi.7)
1.11 M ii.2
1.18 H iv.6,27; v.3; xi.26
2.18 M ix.15-16
2.18-22 M viii.7-8
2.20-22 M viii.7-8
4.29 M vii.9;
HI 22 (=M x.22)
4.31-32 M v.24-26
5.4 M vii.14
5.8-9 M i.10
5.16-17 CD
6.12 W, passim
6.16 H v.16
Philippians
4.2 H vi.19
Colossians
1.12 H iii.21-22; vi.13;
xi.11-12
3.5ff. M v.23ff.
3.12 M viii.6; H ii.13
I Thessalonians
2.6 M iv.23; Z v.29
5.3 H v, passim
5.5 M i.9; ii.16;
iii.l3,24f.;
W, passim
II Thessalonians
1.5 HI 29 (=M xi.7)
1.7f. H iii.29f.
2.3 WC ii.l
2.13 M viii.6; H ii.13
I Timothy
3.6 H vi.15f.; viii.6,10
II Timothy
2.10 M viii.6; H ii.13
3.8 Z v.19
Titus
3.5-6 M iv.21
Hebrews
8.2 M viii.7-8
10.22 M iv.21
13.20 NC
James
2.7 M vi.27
I Peter
1.1 M viii.6; H ii.13
1.5 W i.5; xv.10-12
1.6 M viii.4; Z ix.66
1.7 M viii.4; Z ix.66
1.20 M iv.16-17;
HabC vii.2,7,12
2.5 M viii.7-8
2.6 M viii.6
2.9 M viii.6
2.12 M iv.26
2.25 NC
3.6 M i.17
4.7 H i.35; cp. M iv.5; viii.3
5.4 M iv.7; NC
5.5 M v.23; vi.2
5.10 H xi.29
II Peter
2.1 Hii.14,31;
iv.7,9,10,16,20
2.4 H x.34-35
2.4ff. Z ii-iii
3.6f. M ii.8; H iii.29f
3.7, l0f. H iii.29f.; vi.25f,
I John
1.5-7 M iii.19f.
2.1,18,28 Z ii.14
2.16 M i.6
3.19 H xi.11
4.6 M iii.5-6
II John
1 M viii.6
5 M v.25; Z viii.9
Jude
5ff. Z ii-iii
6 Z ii.18
7 H iii.29f.; x.4
9 W ix.16; xvii. 6-7
Revelation
6.11 (7.9) M iv.8
7.14 M viii.6
11.3ff. M ix.11
12.7-9 W ix.16; xvii.6-7
16.8 H iii.29f.
17.14 M viii.6
19.20 (20.10,14;
21.8) H vi.25f.
20.8 W ix.16
21.23,25 (22.6) H vii.24
22.16 Z vii.19